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Each year in November, California and Texas lawmakers from across the political spectrum, industry leaders, and policy experts come together in Hawaii to discuss the biggest issues affecting voters, businesses, and policymakers during the Independent Voter Project’s (IVP) Business and Leadership Policy Conference. Legislators from the two most populous states in the country with nearly identical demographics, economies, immigration issues but polar opposite on politics issues come together to c

The most critical movement right now in the US is to give voters an election system that is accountable, competitive, and free of corruption. Hundreds of organizations across the country are working toward meeting this goal, and many of the movement’s leaders met in December to celebrate victories and discuss next steps. The National Association of Nonpartisan Reformers (NANR) hosted its annual summit in San Diego, California. It was the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic that member

While there’s lots of talk about “red waves” and “blue waves,” what really deserves the headlines is the “reform wave” that’s sweeping the country. From coast to coast, election reform was on the ballot, and voters overwhelmingly supported it. Votes are still being counted in a number of states, but a few wins we already know: Ranked Choice Voting was adopted by voters in Seattle, WA; Ojai, CA; Fort Collins, CO; Evanston, IL; Portland, ME; Portland, OR, and Multnomah County, Oregon. Money in

The momentum behind ranked choice voting continues to grow across the US and has spread to new states after several jurisdictions adopted its use in the 2022 elections. RCV is the fastest growing nonpartisan electoral reform. It has been adopted and used in two states (Alaska and Maine), as well as over 50 cities and counties. In the 2022 election, it was used in 12 jurisdictions representing 4 million people. As the midterm election results roll in, RCV campaigns have already declared victory

Another Election Day is quickly approaching in the US, and many voters have an opportunity to add their voices to the growing repudiation of an election system that has failed to represent and provide for the country’s citizenry. Since 2016, the number of ballot initiatives to reform US elections has grown exponentially. 2018 was the biggest year in half a century for voting improvements. 2020 and 2021 built on the momentum with fairer voting proposals, independent redistricting, and initiative

Early voting in California is quickly approaching for the 2022 election cycle. In most elections, voters will choose among candidates from two different parties -- but in several districts -- the “top-two” nonpartisan primary has led to head-to-head races between two Democrats. Importantly, most of these races are in heavily Democratic districts where, under a traditional primary system, the race would all but be decided already. Instead, progressive and more moderate Democrats are battling for

State Senator Brian Jones joins host T.J. O’Hara on Deconstructed to discuss California politics. Senator Jones represents the 38th District that covers the vast majority of San Diego County. He previously served six years in the State Assembly before being term-limited under California law and also served as a member of the Santee City Council both before and after his term in the State Assembly. He currently is the Vice Chair of three Senate committees and sits on four other committees as well

Editor's Note: The pieces below feature two sides to the ongoing discussion on ranked choice voting from Deb Otis of FairVote and John Aldrich, Pfizer-Pratt University Professor of Political Science, Duke University. These perspectives originally published on Divided We Fall and have been republished on IVN with permission from the publisher. Ranked-Choice Voting Results in More Democratic Outcomes By Deb Otis Ranked-choice voting (RCV) is the fastest-growing election reform in the country.

Now, with the success of Alaska, and perhaps others, blowing wind to their backs -- San Diego could be poised for its own success.

The reform landscape has changed over the last few years. Solutions that were once presented at odds with each other have combined efforts to give voters fairer, more equitable, and more accountable elections. The first success story of this can be found in Alaska, where the state conducted its first top-four nonpartisan primary for most of its elections on August 16, and used ranked choice voting for the first time in a special election for the state’s single congressional seat. A majority of