California's Top Two primary gives independent voters a voice in all elections. Closing primaries to party members only would strip voting power from 5.2 million registered independents.
Independents are among the most distrustful Americans, as new polling shows confidence in government and major institutions hovering near historic lows.
Independent candidates are multiplying, independent voters are organizing, and the two-party system is facing a challenge it thought it had buried decades ago.
John Opdycke
Alaska is testing a new election system designed to increase competition and deliver better results for voters. As opponents push for repeal, the state's 2026 races show how ranked-choice voting and open primaries are reshaping elections.
Partisan politics trains voters to see the other side as a threat. Independents refuse to play along — and pay a price for it.
Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco chairs the California Assembly's Rules Committee, giving her significant power over which bills get hearings, how quickly they move, and whether laws take effect immediately.
From one-on-one Senate showdowns to growing campaign infrastructure, independent candidates are entering the fall with more money, attention, and opportunity than usual.
Americans don’t lack political opinions. They lack candidates willing—or able—to overcome the money, party gatekeeping, ballot access rules, and other barriers that keep so many elections from ever becoming competitive.
Fourteen California Democrats co-sponsor a constitutional amendment to protect independent voters' right to participate in all publicly funded elections, including primaries, amid a coordinated effort to repeal the state's nonpartisan top-two primary system.
Cara Brown McCormick
Shawn Griffiths
Election Solutions Bulletin
Carlos De Castro Pretelt
Matt Shinners
IVN Editorial Board