Shawn Griffiths
Shawn Griffiths

Shawn is an election reform expert and National Editor of IVN.us. He studied history and philosophy at the University of North Texas. He joined the IVN team in 2012.

Articles by Shawn
Joe Manchin
Manchin to DC: Independents Are Here, and We’re Not Going Away
The rise of an independent majority has long been dismissed by the press as a myth, which is why few people heard about an event in the nation’s capital on July 23 that gathered prominent and rising independent voices....
29 Jul, 2025
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4 min read
Michael Smerconish
Michael Smerconish Leads Lawsuit Against Both Political Parties
CNN host Michael Smerconish is a Pennsylvania voter who is denied access to taxpayer-funded primaries because he is a registered non-party affiliate (independent). He is also one of the plaintiffs in a new lawsuit challenging his state’s use of closed primaries. ...
22 Jul, 2025
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1 min read
Vote sign with New York City skyline in the background.
Don’t Blame Mamdani for Closed Primaries in New York City
The NYC Charter Revision Commission (CRC) will hold its final meeting on July 21 to decide what reforms to city policy will appear on the November ballot. However, one proposal will not be on the commission’s docket – open primaries....
21 Jul, 2025
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10 min read
Trump and Newsom playing tug of war over maps of Texas and California.
Trump and Newsom Engage in War to See Who Can Offend Voters the Most
President Donald Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom are escalating a partisan tug-of-war match — each threatening to manipulate electoral maps for short-term advantage. However, their proposals are receiving significant pushback from voters, election reform advocates, even members of their own parties....
17 Jul, 2025
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4 min read
Jimmy Carter
The Seventies: High Times with Jimmy Carter and Jerry Brown
In the years that followed President Richard Nixon’s crackdown on pot and eventual resignation, state and local governments began to push the envelope to reform cannabis laws....
17 Jul, 2025
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5 min read
Picture of PA capitol building with a no vote sign in front of it.
Taxed But Silenced: Pennsylvania Independents Sue for Right to Vote
Four independent voters, including well-known journalist Michael Smerconish and political reform advocate David Thornburgh, are suing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, arguing that its closed primary system violates their constitutional rights under the state’s Free and Equal Elections Clause....
15 Jul, 2025
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3 min read
vote here sign with people standing in line to vote.
Why Are Democrats in DC Failing to Implement an Initiative Passed by 73% of Voters?
Back in November, DC voters overwhelmingly approved Initiative 83, a measure that called for semi-open primaries and ranked choice voting (RCV) in all city elections. The problem – the DC City Council has yet to fully fund it....
15 Jul, 2025
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4 min read
Cartoon image of Cuomo and Adams running into each other with cars.
Adams and Cuomo Power Players Play Chicken With New York Elections
NYC Mayor Eric Adams and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo are currently playing a game of chicken with each other – leveraging the city’s electoral system to pressure the other to quit the race. The question is: Who will blink first? Or… are they headed for a collision?...
14 Jul, 2025
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3 min read
Open Primary NYC
5 Influential Forces in NYC that Threaten the Success of Open Primaries
New York City’s Charter Revision Commission (CRC) is considering a proposal to adopt a nonpartisan “Top Two” open primary system, which would allow the city’s 1.1 million independent voters to cast a ballot in primary elections they pay for....
14 Jul, 2025
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13 min read