From the war in Iran to the ballot box, Americans bear the consequences of decisions made by elected officials. But gerrymandering, closed primaries, and political money make it harder for voters to hold those leaders accountable.
Plus: pop-up super PACs spent millions with hidden donors, and the DSA machine falls short in California.
Plus: midterm predictions, CO's indy surge, and CA's indy power
Plus, DSA v. Dems in California and independent voters to decide Congress
Independent analysis of elections and reform, in your inbox every week.
IVN is nonpartisan and reader-supported. Your gift keeps it free for every voter.
DonateSee more of IVN in Google's Top Stories and AI answers. It takes one click.
Add IVN on Google
A federal lawsuit filed by two veterans asks whether the right to vote comes from citizenship or from joining a party.
Conversations for voters who don’t fit the two-party box.
All episodes
The Blue Wave Might Be Trump's BIGGEST Opportunity Yet (Here’s Why) | EP67
The Election Night TSUNAMI Wasn’t Blue - It Was Independent (Here’s Why) | EP66
MIDTERMS: Will Talarico Take TEXAS? El-Sayed v. Rogers, Collins v. Jackson | EP65
The Two-Party System CONTROLS Our Elections. It’s Time to FIGHT BACK (John Opdycke) | EP64
California’s Election Will Be DECIDED by These Voters (NOT Who You Think) | EP63
How Trump’s LA Bombing “Troll” EXPOSES Our Broken Elections (Politics Explained) | EP62
The Veteran Suing New York for the Right to Vote (Paul Rieckhoff) | EP61
Trump & Mamdani Agree on This One Issue (NOT What You Think) | EP60
How California's Top-Two Primary Puts DSA vs. Democrats to the Test (Steve Peace) | EP59
How Trump's Own Mail-In Voting Rule Could BACKFIRE on Republicans | EP58
Democratic Socialists of America and Working Families Party-backed candidates won some competitive races in California's same-party Democratic contests, but fell short in most state legislative races against more moderate Democrats.
Independent candidates built a winning 2026 playbook on cost-of-living populism and anti-corruption reform, but Democratic winners adopted the message. What independents couldn't offer was a party label to oppose the party in power.
