Poll Finds that a Majority of New York Democrats Don’t Really Want to be Democrats

Lisa D.T. Rice, the driving force behind DC's Initiative 83 to permit ranked choice voting and open primaries, joins the show to explain how a missing ballot turned her into one of the most relentless reformers in the country.

DC Political Machine Refuses to Implement Landmark Voting Rights Initiative

The DC City Council has refused to fully fund and implement Initiative 83, the semi-open primary and ranked choice voting measure that was approved by 73% of voters in 2024.

Independent Voter NewsShawn Griffiths

She breaks down why closed primaries are really a voting-rights problem, how she took on two fights at once - open primaries and ranked choice voting - in the heart of a 95% one-party city, and how rooting reform in everyday issues like food deserts is what actually wins elections.

Then comes the gut-punch: voters passed her initiative with 73%, and she still couldn't cast a ballot. Stick around for the protest she threw in response, the go-go song she commissioned to troll the city council, and the lawsuit threat she says she "wouldn't put past someone."

This episode is sponsored by the Independent Voter Project and produced by Olas Media. Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. 

Episode Highlights

In this episode of the Independent Voter Podcast, Chad and Shawn sit down with Lisa Rice, founder of Grow Democracy DC and a leading voice in the election reform movement.

Rice shares how her own voter disenfranchisement — losing access to her right to vote in primaries after leaving the Democratic Party to become an independent voter — ignited her activism in Washington, D.C.

As a board member of Unite America since 2017, Rice brings a national perspective to local battles, arguing that independent voters and unaffiliated voters are taxpaying citizens who deserve full participation in taxpayer-funded elections, regardless of party affiliation.

Rice spearheaded Initiative 83, a landmark ballot initiative that passed with a historic 73% of the vote in 2024, adding D.C. to the growing list of jurisdictions to adopt ranked choice voting (RCV) and paving the way for semi-open primaries.

Despite the overwhelming victory with voters, the D.C. City Council has yet to fund the semi-open primary component, setting up a critical budget vote that Rice and her coalition are actively lobbying.

DC Says Democracy Costs Too Much. Its Budget Says Otherwise.

The DC Council says open primaries are too expensive, but the city’s budget shows the real issue isn’t the price tag — it’s whether independent voters are a priority.

Independent Voter NewsShawn Griffiths

Rice connects her D.C. fight to a growing national democracy reform movement, citing ongoing efforts in states like Colorado, Oklahoma, Maine, and California as evidence that nonpartisan primary reform and ranked-choice voting are gaining momentum across the country.

She encourages independent voters feeling isolated to find community, noting that 1-in-5 D.C. residents are unaffiliated voters — a silent majority ready to mobilize.

For those looking to get involved or support the push for open primaries and voting rights, Rice directs listeners to GrowDemocracyDC.org and emphasizes that systemic election reform only succeeds when it's rooted in the everyday concerns of real voters.