Here’s a pleasant surprise: The Globe has endorsed Question 3, the referendum question that would replace the state’s current party primary elections with “all-party” primary elections. I’ve harped on this subject before, here and here. But the Globe editorial really nails why Question 3, as imperfect as it may be, is needed to promote genuine political competition in Massachusetts. I particularly liked these lines:

The biggest reason for the lack of competition (today) is because the Republican Party has slid into irrelevance in much of the state, and does not bother to field candidates. The biggest reason to vote for Question 3 is because having a healthy democracy with competitive races shouldn’t depend on the Massachusetts GOP someday getting its act together.

Toward the end, the Globe unfortunately gives a sop to progressives by saying that all-party primaries could one day co-exist with ranked-choice voting. But ranked-choice voting would actually negate the benefits of all-party primaries, giving the majority (i.e. Dems) extra shots at controlling who advances to general elections. Ranked-choice voting is a bad idea. But that’s a debate for a different day.