Opinion | After the Trump indictment, what’s next?

So how does a fringe minority figure become the prohibitive favorite? It’s thanks to the absurdly bad process called winner-take-all primaries. In the deeply flawed system, the candidate with the most votes gets all of that state’s delegates. So, the winner of, say, 30 percent of the vote can harvest 100 percent of the delegates, ignoring the wishes of the 70 percent who voted for someone else.

Instead of repeatedly trying — and failing — to find ways to lure away Mr. Trump’s loyal base, his opponents should focus on the most basic tenet of democracy: majority rule. Award delegates proportionately in all primaries and then allow those delegates to agree on a nominee at the convention. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) surprised many — maybe including himself — by demonstrating in the debt ceiling negotiations that the reasonable center can outvote the rabid extreme. It’s how democracy is supposed to work. It’s a good process, and it often makes a good product.

After former president Donald Trump was indicted in New York for alleged record-keeping violations while paying off adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, his poll numbers went up. But when interviewed, most of his supporters opine that he is not likely to win the general election. Polls simply cannot capture this oddity of Trumpism.

And amazingly, Bidenism is equally odd. Many voters, while appreciating (even being amazed at) what President Biden has accomplished, don’t want him to run again. And that is what his low poll numbers reveal: Thank you, Mr. President, but please go home to Delaware.

As someone who believes Mr. Trump’s only value has been to teach us that we cannot take our democracy for granted, I strongly believe that vigilance, not mere July Fourth celebrations, is what we must have to keep celebrating the gift the Founding Fathers risked their lives to bequeath us. Fly your flag, but please — pay attention.

The Republican primary voters this year have great power.

Sandy Miley, Sherrill, N.Y.

The Trump documents matter highlights a glaring issue: over-classifying documents. Indeed, the latest brouhaha suggests that the classification system needs a major overhaul.

Both Republican and Democratic presidents have been found to have had possession of classified documents. Former vice president Mike Pence and President Biden also had classified documents.

Changes to the classification system would likely be difficult. Are too many documents being classified? Should a judge be required to classify documents, as with search warrants? Should there be an expiration date for classification? Experts could develop reasonable modifications.

As with immigration policy, the U.S. government is so caught up in being partisan that solving actual problems is impossible. I fear we are seeing results of the “Great Experiment” — and they are negative. A leader who would get rid of this partisanship would get my (independent) vote.

Henry Kerfoot, Havre de Grace, Md.