Since the US presidential election of 2000, a great deal of attention has been paid to the conduct of elections – most especially to the mechanics of voting and ballot counting. Less attention has been paid to how voters respond to the structure of elections more generally and the primary system in particular. In this paper we examine the extent to which citizens support or oppose different versions of the primary system. We find that a significant and persistent majority of Americans support making fundamental changes to the presidential election system. These opinions, moreover, have systematic components and do not, then, simply reflect a momentary and possibly inchoate disgruntlement. Support for fundamental changes to the system is directly attributable to self‐interested political motivations, individuals’ partisan preferences, and disaffection with the political system.