Amendment H, which would implement a nonpartisan top two primary system in South Dakota, may be in serious trouble. That is, if a recent News Watch poll is accurate.

Two states currently use ranked choice voting at the state level (Maine and Alaska). This number could substantially change with RCV on the ballot in 4 states, including the red state Idaho, the purple state Colorado, and the blue state Oregon. 

Not much attention is on Amendment 7 in Missouri as millions of dollars have gone into ads for and against other proposals that deal with abortion, online sports betting, and a new casino. However, the amendment will affect the voting rights of every Missouri citizen.

Alaska voters have a choice this election: Keep the nonpartisan election reform that opened taxpayer-funded election to all voters and candidates. Or, return to a system where party leaders have the most control over election outcomes.

While Election Day is still three weeks away, a combination of safe congressional seats and closed partisan primaries has already determined the result of 87% of House Elections.

The Denver Post Editorial Board has issued an endorsement on Proposition 131 in Colorado, an initiative that calls for a nonpartisan top 4 open primary with ranked choice voting. They ask voters to vote "No," but not because they have doubts about the reform.

With Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen’s announcement on Sept. 24 that he doesn't have enough votes to call a special session of the Legislature to change the way the state allocates electoral votes, an effort led by former President Donald Trump to pressure the Legislature officially failed.

The Washington Post Editorial Board has announced its support for ranked choice voting (which will be on the ballot in 4 states and the District of Columbia), encouraging DC residents in particular to support Initiative 83.

The Unite America (UAI) Institute released new analysis Tuesday that found that less and less US voters (down to 7%) are deciding nearly 90% of US House races in taxpayer-funded primary elections. What’s more, the gap between these numbers is widening.

Early voting is set to kick off in Arizona this week, and the state Supreme Court has put to bed a legal battle over Prop 140 that has dragged on well past the printing of ballots. The high court ruled that votes for Prop 140 will count. 

The 2024 election cycle is already a historic year for election reform. Six states plus the District of Columbia have measures on the November 5 ballot that, if approved by voters, will open taxpayer-funded primary elections to voters outside the Republican and Democratic Parties.

Idaho Republican lawmakers have indicated that because they don't like election reforms in Proposition 1, they will consider repealing or amending the proposal if voters approve it in November. 

In a new video posted by the nonpartisan primary reform group Open Primaries, Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt discusses his support for an open primary system in which all candidates have to make their case to all registered voters, regardless of party.

Bloomington is 1 of 5 cities in Minnesota that uses ranked choice voting for its city elections. However, this could change if opponents to reform have their way in November.

In 2022, a majority of Nevada voters said 'Yes' to a ballot measure that would open up primaries to all voters and candidates and implement ranked choice voting in the general election. The question is: Will they do it again in 2024?

Montana voters have a choice to make: They can keep the state's partisan primary system, which decides most elections in the state before most voters have a say. Or, they can end party primaries and adopt a system that is open to all voters and candidates at the most critical stage of the process. 

Nearly 300,000 independent voters in Idaho have an opportunity to pass a ballot measure that would guarantee them equal access to taxpayer-funded primary elections without having to affiliate with one of the two major political parties.

Arizona voters will have several ballot measures to consider when they receive their November ballot. Among them is Proposition 140, which if passed would end partisan primaries in the state and give independent voters and candidates level footing in the elections process.

South Dakota voters have a choice in the 2024 election: They can keep an election system that is solely controlled by a single political party, or they can reform elections that allow voters to choose any candidate they prefer, regardless of party under Amendment H. 

Independent voters in Washington DC have an opportunity this November to gain access to the city's most critical elections, the primaries, while also implementing ranked choice voting for all District elections with Initiative 83. 

The nonpartisan voting reform group FairVote released a new report Monday that shows that 70 major party statewide and congressional candidates in the 2024 primary cycle advanced to the general election with less than 50% of the vote. 

A poll commissioned by Colorado Voters First shows that a clear majority (56%) of likely voters in Colorado will or probably will support Proposition 131, a measure that would implement a nonpartisan Top 4 primary with ranked choice voting in the general election.

Como en cada ciclo electoral, Independent Voter News ofrece una cobertura exhaustiva de las elecciones más competitivas en California y cómo los votantes independientes influirán el futuro del Estado de California.

Tusk Ventures Founder and CEO Bradley Tusk has been making his rounds both in the media and with nonpartisan reform groups to discuss his new book, "Vote with Your Phone: Why Mobile Voting Is Our Final Shot at Saving Democracy," and the need to change incentives in US elections to guarantee less extremism and more accountable representation. 

In May, IVN published a poll revealing that over 67% of voters in San Diego and Chula Vista supported the More Choice San Diego initiative to allow voters to rank up to 5 candidates in the general election, instead of choosing among two.

On Thursday, September 12, US Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Don Beyer of Virginia re-introduced the Ranked Choice Voting Act, which if enacted into law would require ranked choice voting for congressional elections.

With the race to Election Day entering the homestretch, the Harris and Trump campaigns are in a full out sprint to reach independent voters, knowing full well that independents have been the deciding vote in every presidential contest since the Obama era. And like clockwork every election season, debates are arising about who independent voters are, whether they matter and even whether they actually exist at all.

Veterans for All Voters hosted a recent virtual discussion with Tusk Ventures CEO Badley Tusk as part of their ongoing Reformation Series.

Proposition 7 in Missouri will be on the November 5 ballot. If passed, it would not only make noncitizen voting illegal, which is already the law, but it would ban the use of ranked choice voting.

In Virginia, the Charlottesville City Council on Tuesday voted to approve the use of ranked choice voting (RCV) in the June 2025 Council primaries.

Six states plus the District of Columbia will have measures on their November 5 ballots that, if passed, will reform the way public officials are elected in a way that offers more choice to all voters, regardless of political affiliation.

The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that voter pamphlet language describing a nonpartisan primary reform initiative as a ranked choice voting initiative can stay.

Many voters heard about Robert F Kennedy suspending his 2024 presidential campaign. Many voters heard about the drama over "hot mics" in presidential debates.

Former Idaho Attorney General Jim Jones pushed back against claims that nonpartisan open primaries would lead to gun control in a recent op-ed in the Idaho Press – calling it a fear mongering tactic that has no basis in reality.

The voting reform with the most momentum behind it right now is ranked choice voting (RCV) -- which is increasingly being used in jurisdictions across the US.

Nonpartisan reformers know what is coming when they propose changing the way voters elect public officials. Inevitably, those who benefit from the status quo will turn to the courts to prevent voters from having a say.

The Charlottesville City Council will consider a draft ordinance on Monday, August 19, that if approved would authorize the city's political parties to use ranked choice voting (RCV) in council primaries.

Veterans For All Voters hosted a virtual webinar Tuesday with two members of Congress that may be on opposite sides of the political aisle but are sponsors of a bill that ensures independent voters are guaranteed equal voting rights in taxpayer-funded elections.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Melissa Iyer Julian on Monday sided with reformers who claimed that Arizona lawmakers were intentionally trying to mislead voters about their initiative to end partisan primaries.

New research shows that the nonpartisan Top 4 system used in Alaska not only has broad support among Republicans, Democrats, and independents, but in 2022 elected candidates in statewide elections that had appeal that went beyond their party.

The Let Us Vote campaign released two citizen spotlight videos that focus not only on the need for primary election systems that treat independent voters equally, but why it is important in a state like South Dakota.

The Arizona Free Enterprise Club filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a ballot initiative that would require state lawmakers to adopt a primary system that allows all voters and candidates, regardless of party, to participate on a single ballot.

In his latest podcast, Andrew Yang fielded questions from his audience, including his thoughts on the presidential election, making the case for a third party like the Forward Party, and the importance of systemic election reform.

The DC Board of Elections has certified Initiative 83 for the November ballot, which would open primary elections to independent voters and requires ranked choice voting to be used in all District elections.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill Thursday that would enshrine into law the right independent voters have to participate in all taxpayer-funded elections.

This year’s Democratic Party presidential primary was a choreographed affair dubbed “Operation Bubble Wrap.” The rules were manipulated by party insiders to ensure Joe Biden would face no scrutiny and no competition. The idea that he should stay in the race because he “won the primary” is absurd. There was no primary. By design.

Ballotpedia released a report on the increased efforts in various states across the US to ban ranked choice voting, a popular nonpartisan reform that continues to gain momentum.

Last week, I recorded a podcast interview with Gabe Hart. Gabe lives in western Tennessee and is a plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging voter suppression signs that are hung at every poll site in Tennessee on primary day.

Following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, leaders of both major political parties have called for unity and for a change to the venomous rhetoric in US politics. 

The Idaho secretary of state announced this week that Idahoans for Open Primaries turned in enough signatures for its ballot initiative to end the state's closed primary system.

The Richmond City Council unanimously approved a ballot measure for November in a 5-0 vote that authorizes the use of ranked choice voting (RCV) for mayor and city council elections. 

In a system that was designed to perpetuate a zero-sum contest between two sides, the stakes get higher each election cycle to convince people they have to cast their ballot a certain way “or else.”

In 2022, Alaska voters used a new election system that changed the way state voters thought about elections.

It goes without saying that the District of Columbia is a one-party town. Out of the 13 seats that compose the DC City Council, 11 are held by Democrats, and the other two are held by officials registered as independent.

Imagine this: A general election with no negative campaigning and four or five viable candidates (regardless of party affiliation) competing based on their own personal ideas and actions — not simply their level of obstruction or how well they demonize their opponents.

A DC campaign has collected more than 40,000 signatures to put an initiative on the city’s ballot that would open primary elections to independent voters and implement ranked choice voting in all District elections.

Last week, Virginia’s GOP held primaries for the upcoming House elections in November. As of today, the results for the state’s 5th congressional district are still too close to call.

Once again, the US finds itself having a familiar discussion. Some people will use the term “democracy” to refer to the US, and then there will inevitably be some who respond with, “We’re not a democracy; we’re a republic.”

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont formed a task force this month to come up with a comprehensive legislative proposal by the end of the year that would enable state municipalities and parties to use ranked choice voting (RCV).

A recent poll shows that 55% of South Dakota voters support Amendment H, which if approved in November will implement a nonpartisan, top-two primary in the state similar to systems used in California and Washington.