The Alaska Supreme Court is considering whether opponents of open primaries and ranked-choice voting broke state law when they funneled money through a Washington-based church to support a repeal campaign....

A new set of interactive data tools is providing Californians with an unprecedented look inside the state’s prison system. Developed by the California Policy Lab in partnership with the state’s Committee on the Revision of the Penal Code, the California Prison Population Data Dashboards make ten years of state prison data accessible to anyone online....

The special election for California Prop 50 wraps up November 4 and recent polling shows the odds strongly favor its passage. The measure suspends the state’s independent congressional map for a legislative gerrymander that Princeton grades as one of the worst in the nation....

The latest Independent Voter Podcast episode takes listeners through the messy intersections of politics, reform, and public perception. Chad and Cara open with the irony of partisan outrage over trivial issues like a White House ballroom while overlooking the deeper dysfunctions in our democracy. From California to Maine, they unpack how the very words on a ballot can tilt entire elections and how both major parties manipulate language and process to maintain power....

The ongoing mid-decade redistricting battle between the Republican and Democratic Parties, which now literally spans from the west coast in California to the east coast in Virginia and North Carolina, may be the final nail in the coffin for an old saying in American politics: Specifically, “All politics is local.” ...

Should we be comfortable with the surge of hedge funds and real estate investment trusts buying up single-family homes and turning them into rentals? What happens to families who just want to buy one house and build a life there? The question is more than theoretical. It is reshaping the foundation of what was once called the American dream....

Can San Diego build its way out of its three-part housing crisis – supply, affordability and homelessness? Some of elected officials think so and are leading the charge. I have been in the real estate industry for 50-plus years, and I say they are on the wrong track....

The New York City mayoral election has drawn national attention in a way voters haven’t seen in modern history. This is because Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, 33 and a self-described democratic socialist, is poised to win based on the latest polling....

Eighteen U.S. cities and counties have used or are using ranked choice voting (RCV) in 2025 -- including the largest cities in three states: New York City (for its primaries only), Minneapolis, and Salt Lake City....

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The U.S. has entered Day 22 of the latest government shutdown with no end in sight. As pundits expect it to surpass the 35-day record set during Trump’s first term, a new Gallup poll shows voters’ approval of Congress has plummeted in the last month. Yet, for congressional leaders, there isn’t any urgency to re-open the government. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries trade jabs back and forth in the media, but the blame game continues to be prioritized over solutions....

On Day 16 of the government shutdown, President Donald Trump held a special “Legacy Dinner” at the White House to thank donors who helped fund his new ballroom project, which costs around $200-$250 million....