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The latest headlines on nonpartisan voting rights from across the nation. Enjoy. Who Controls Primary Elections, And Who Gets To Vote? Source: Jonathan Stahl, Constitution Daily My Take: A good piece on its surface, but even better if you get into the weeds of the various links and additional stories/information on our primary systems. Group Tries To Replicate Nonpartisan Nebraska Elections In Arizona Source: Mark Brodie, KJZZ 91.5 My Take: Relax your eyes and let your ears takeover for

With two election cycles under its belt, California’s nonpartisan primary system has shown positive results for electoral competition and voter confidence. Studies show that changing the first stage of the election from a private party nomination process to a nonpartisan public process results in more competitive elections, produces a more productive legislature, and enhances overall satisfaction with representation. California’s Proposition 14, which established a “Top-Two” nonpartisan primary

There was general consensus among the public that Carly Fiorina won the first GOP "happy hour" debate and the poll numbers showed it. Now, even with high poll numbers, Fiorina is at risk of being relegated to CNN's undercard debate in September. "Despite being solidly in the top 10 by every measure, the political establishment is still rigging the game to keep Carly off the main debate stage next month," Fiorina's deputy campaign manager, Sarah Isgur Flores writes. According to Fiorina campaig

"Let the lines fall fair." This is the message from Florida state Representative Evan Jenne (D-Dania Beach). During an interview with IVN, Rep. Jenne discussed his proposal to hand the responsibility for drawing the state's congressional and legislative boundaries over to an independent redistricting commission. Our conversation came on the heels of a fruitless special session in the Florida legislature. State lawmakers convened in August to redraw the state's congressional map after the Flori

While Congress has twice mandated the use of single-member districts (SMD) for electing members of Congress (once in 1842 and again in 1967), state legislatures are at liberty to determine how their representatives will be elected. According to FairVote, at one time, more than half of all state legislators were elected from multi-member districts (MMD). Fifty years ago, more than two-thirds of states had at least some multi-member districts. Today, that number has dropped to just ten: Vermont

Florida's state legislators meeting in a special session have until noon on Friday, August 21, to agree to a new map for the state's 27 congressional districts. Two court rulings – one from 2014 and one from 2015 – found fault with the legislature's congressional maps, with judges finding them to be in violation of the Fair Districts Amendment. In 2010, 63 percent of Florida voters approved ballot measures to tackle gerrymandering through constitutional amendments. Amendment 5 amended the pract

This weekend saw the candidates sharply carving out their individual stances on the parties' platforms on immigration at the Iowa State Fair. While Donald Trump dazzled party-hardliners with his plan to change the Constitution to abolish jus soli (right of the soil), birthright citizenship, as well as deporting all illegal immigrants without a path to citizenship, Americans in general don't seem to have as aggressive of a stance on immigration. Even within the Republican Party, half support a

As much as Donald Trump called "foul" on tough questioning in the Fox debate, including the Big Question about whether everyone was committed to supporting the Republican nominee, from the point of view of independent voters, the questioners weren't nearly tough enough. Or, put another way, independent enough. Trump was the only one on the stage who refused the GOP loyalty oath, threatening an independent run for the presidency. Since Trump raised that possibility, it is more than fair to consi

If the party system collapsed overnight, would we really have better candidates? Suppose closed primaries were all opened—a long-term goal currently pursued by the Independent Voter Project, The Centrist Project, and numerous others, currently gaining real traction. Suppose America’s ideological constipation were suddenly relieved, breaking out of the notional Conservative-Republican, Liberal-Democrat litmus test that uses single issues to glue politicians to broad platforms. Would we get bet

The nonpartisan or "top-two" primary in California is working and the Golden State has more competitive elections, has increased voter access and a better functioning legislature. Those are the key findings released today in a report from called A Quiet Revolution: The Early Success of California’s Top Two Nonpartisan Primary from Open Primaries. The authors of the report are Jason Olson, the president of Independentvoice.org, a San Francisco based organization of independent voters and Dr. Oma