Steve Peace

Former CA Senator Steve Peace served 20 years and authored the landmark top-two primary system to reduce partisan control. A long-time advocate for election reform, he is also known for his role in the cult classic Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.

The Real Losers in Virginia, SCOTUS Redistricting Decisions are “Progressives” and Trump

In all the drama on redistricting people are overlooking what the courts actually did: They made life miserable for extremists.

Steve Peace

/ May 11, 2026

Supreme Court building. Supreme Court redistricting decision.

Why Neither Side Wants the Truth About Voter ID

Voter ID is treated like a five-alarm fire in American politics. That reaction says more about our dysfunctional political system than it does about voter ID itself.

Steve Peace

/ February 6, 2026

Why Neither Side Wants the Truth About Voter ID

Mayor Matt Mahan Could Turn the California Governor Race Upside Down

Rumors are circulating that San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan may enter the race for California governor. If the recently elected Democratic mayor makes the move, he could jolt a contest that, to date, has been remarkably sleepy.

Steve Peace

/ January 28, 2026

Mayor Matt Mahan Could Turn the California Governor Race Upside Down

California's Governor is Not Just Messing With Texas

It is a classic political threat. Take one more step, and I will act. But this time, even though the target is Texas Republicans, it could easily turn out that California Democrats wind up taking the fall.

Steve Peace

/ August 8, 2025

California's Governor is Not Just Messing With Texas

Trojan Horse: How CA Democrats Might Use Voter ID to Turn Back the Clock

Voter IDs are a requirement in almost every democracy in the world from Europe to Mexico. But legitimate concerns over voter suppression efforts in the American south led to a different ethic inside Democratic Party circles. Over time, Voter ID plans have been presumptively conflated with claims of

Steve Peace

/ July 25, 2025

Trojan Horse: How CA Democrats Might Use Voter ID to Turn Back the Clock

AB 955 Revisited: How to Expand Cross-Border Care Without Sacrificing Patient Protections

IVN recently examined AB 955, by Assemblymember David Alvarez. The bill seeks to expand a healthcare service program I created in 1998 as the author of SB1658.

Steve Peace

/ May 14, 2025

AB 955 Revisited: How to Expand Cross-Border Care Without Sacrificing Patient Protections

Why I’m Voting for Robert F. Kennedy Jr for President

I’m a lifelong Democrat. I served for more than 20 years in the California Legislature and as Director of Finance under a Democratic governor. I supported and financially contributed to Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Amy Klobuchar in 2020.

Steve Peace

/ June 7, 2024

Why I’m Voting for Robert F. Kennedy Jr for President

Blame This One on Secretary of State Weber

Eight years ago, there was a competition still in play between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton when the California primary rolled around. But, even though the Democratic Party allowed independent

Steve Peace

/ February 26, 2024

Blame This One on Secretary of State Weber

Author of California’s Top-Two Primary Says It’s Time to Reform the Reform

In 2010, California voters took the first step in empowering every California voter by abolishing party-controlled closed partisan primaries in favor of open nonpartisan primaries that advance the top two vote-getters to the November election.

Steve Peace

/ February 14, 2024

Author of California’s Top-Two Primary Says It’s Time to Reform the Reform

CALIFORNIA COURT: It's OK to Suppress Independent Voter Rights

For a state that claims to lead the nation in voter rights, California’s presidential primary rules are a study in hypocrisy. The California Constitution requires that all elections for

Steve Peace

/ March 29, 2023

On Moderation

Without the tempering influence of moderation, the public face of politics is dissolved into banal drama. Extremists engage in theatrical behavior by demonizing their foes in bitterly careless terms.

Steve Peace

/ January 26, 2021

On Moderation

Editor's Note: The following is a speech given by Steve Peace in 1998 along with additional supporting documents from research and extracted passages from earlier drafts of the

Steve Peace

/ January 26, 2021