IVP Sits Down With KUSI News to Discuss California’s Presidential Primary Problems

image
Independent Voter ProjectIndependent Voter Project
Published: 17 Jun, 2019
1 min read

IVP legal advisor Chad Peace joined KUSI's Paul Rudy to discuss the ongoing problems with the presidential primary, what it means for those who choose to register and run outside the major parties, and the Independent Voter Project's simple solution to fix the confusing and unconstitutional process.

It is now well documented -- especially after the 2016 presidential primary -- how California's semi-closed system puts barriers in front of No Party Preference voters and candidates.

“By the time you get to the general election, the narrative has been framed, the ‘credible’ candidates have already been decided,” says Peace, “and then you have three or four independents, plus third parties, all competing for the first time in a general election when all the dialogue and all the voters have been told, ‘Well, these are the credible candidates that actually have a chance to win.”

IVP knows that some people believe we are just “whistling in the wind” by proposing simple, fair, and easy nonpartisan solutions to the partisan powers that be. But there is no other organization that has had the amount of success passing nonpartisan primary reform than IVP, authoring and passing the nonpartisan, top-two primary for statewide, legislative, and congressional elections in 2010.

“Representation is supposed to be about representing the community, not a color -- not a t-shirt, and what I mean by t-shirt is red or blue. It is supposed to represent everybody,” Peace adds.

Check out the full interview above.

You Might Also Like

Proposition 50 voter guide
California Prop 50: Partisan Power Play or Necessary Counterpunch?
November 4 marks a special election for what has become the most controversial ballot measure in California in recent memory: Proposition 50, which would circumvent congressional districts drawn by the state’s independent redistricting commission for a legislative-drawn map....
01 Oct, 2025
-
9 min read
court gavel.
Virtual Discussion: The Fight for Equal Independent Voting Rights Makes it to SCOTUS
Every major voting rights movement in U.S. history – whether successful or not – has intertwined with landmark litigation. This was the case for women’s suffrage. It was the case for civil rights. And it is the case in the ongoing effort to protect the right of all voters to have equal participation in taxpayer-funded elections – something millions of independent voters are denied across the U.S....
29 Sep, 2025
-
2 min read
Supreme Court building
SCOTUS Considers Challenge to Closed Primaries -- Here's Why It Is Such a Big Deal
In a dramatic step forward for litigation challenging closed primaries, the U.S. Supreme Court has indicated they are going to conference to discuss whether to grant a writ of certiorari to Polelle v. Florida Secretary of State; a case challenging Florida's closed primaries that Open Primaries has supported since its inception....
26 Sep, 2025
-
2 min read