The 2020 Democratic presidential primary will likely be the most crowded primary in decades, with new generations of Democrats all clamoring to get the party to reflect their values in the wake of the Trump presidency. In light of this, it becomes more and more obvious how limited the voting system allows voters to be when choosing their preferred candidates.

In the current system, voters are only allowed to express their opinion on one candidate, implying that if you cast your vote for Elizabeth Warren, then you are indifferent to the distinctions between Kamala Harris and Joe Biden. This limits the communication channels to the party from the constituents and can produce increasingly undemocratic outcomes, especially with very large fields.

With Score Voting, the voters can give each candidate a grade from 0-10, 0 being least favorable and 10 being most favorable. The scores are then added up, and the candidate with the highest total score will win. This allows the voters to describe candidates as equally favorable, equally unfavorable, or describe exactly their opinion on each candidate with much better granularity.

Here are a few potential sample ballots and how that voter might feel about the direction of the democratic party.

Biden - 10

Booker - 2

Gabbard - 0

Gillibrand - 0

Harris - 0

Garcetti - 0

Sanders - 0

O'Rourke - 5

Warren - 0

Klobuchar - 2

This is the ballot of a 66-year-old white school teacher living in suburban Arizona, he voted for Obama twice, and he dislikes the rising socialist wing of the Democratic primary and prefers more centrist candidates and those who can appeal to members the Sun Belt working class.

Biden - 2

Booker - 5

Gabbard - 10

Gillibrand - 7

Harris - 10

Garcetti - 8

Sanders - 10

O'Rourke - 8

Warren - 10

Klobuchar - 2

This is the ballot of a 25-year-old Hispanic software engineer living on the outskirts of Palo Alto. She supported Bernie Sanders during his run in 2016, and is glad to see the field open up for more left-leaning, change-oriented candidates. With score vote, she can express her equally favorable support for Warren, Sanders, and Harris, without splitting up her vote between them.

Biden - 10

Booker - 7

Gabbard - 0

Gillibrand - 0

Harris - 8

Garcetti - 0

Sanders - 0

O'Rourke - 0

Warren - 0

Klobuchar - 0

This is the ballot of a 38-year-old African-American shopkeeper in Alabama, she is in favor of centrist candidates who are associated with Obama, and with the establishment wing of the Democratic party.

Biden - 4

Booker - 0

Gabbard - 6

Gillibrand - 8

Harris - 8

Garcetti - 0

Sanders - 10

O'Rourke - 5

Warren - 5

Klobuchar - 10

This is the ballot of an independent retired machine operator in rural Michigan, he voted for Obama in 2012 and for Trump in 2016, and generally prefers change-oriented candidates to those promoting the status quo. Because of score vote, he can support progressive candidates without supporting them equally, and choose very carefully what he thinks about each candidate individually.

This will ultimately produce a nominee who is much more popular and legitimate in the eyes of the voters. Since the democratic field is becoming so large for 2020, and since the 2020 election is likely to be crucial to the Democratic Party's favorability with the electorate, it is crucial that we listen to the opinions of our voters to nominate a candidate everybody can be proud of.