IVN Editorial BoardSometimes California’s election system provides a unique window into national politics.
The battle between the Democratic Socialists of America and so-called Mainstream Democrats has mostly played out in closed partisan primaries throughout the country.
California offers the opposite experiment. Instead of asking independents and voters from the other party to sit out, the state puts the same candidates in front of everyone and lets the entire electorate decide.
This November, five competitive contests for seats in the state Legislature feature a DSA-backed or recommended Democrat against a more mainstream Democrat. These races will give us an unusually clear look at what those voters do with that power.
There are lessons here for everyone. We plan to do our best to provide objective coverage and to encourage everyone to make their own choice.
Check out our independent coverage of those important races below.
FEATURED ▶▶▶
DSA on One Side, Labor and Cops on the Other: South Bay Independents Get the Deciding Vote
Cara Brown McCormick on the South Bay’s state Senate fight: the Democratic Socialists on one side, labor and law enforcement on the other — and the deciding vote belongs to independents.
CALIFORNIA NEWS ▶▶▶
PROPOSALS ▶▶▶
Guide to California’s Proposals for Independent-Minded Voters
Voter ID. A billionaire tax and the two measures built to counter it. A nonpartisan Secretary of State. A constitutional right to vote. Everything on California’s November ballot, decoded for independent-minded voters.
LATINO ▶▶▶
Don't Let a Signature Kill Your Vote: The California Latino Voter's Survival Guide to November
Alex Segura of the Latino News Network: with Prop 39 confusion swirling and mail-ballot rejections at a decade high, here’s what Latino voters actually need to know before November — starting with the signature.
INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES ▶▶▶
Kevin Kiley Left the Republican Party Over Gerrymandering. Now He's Testing Whether an Independent Can Beat the Map Drawn to Defeat Him.
California’s own Kevin Kiley walked away from the Republican Party over the gerrymander — and now he’s running as an independent in a CA-6 redrawn specifically to defeat him. If he wins, the label beats the map. Matt Shinners reports.
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SIGN UP NOWLATEST EPISODE ▶▶▶
Independent Voter Podcast
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa joins EP57 on defying his own party’s pressure to drop out of the California governor’s race — and why the voters, not party bosses, should decide who stays in.
