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For a state that claims to lead the nation in voter rights, California’s presidential primary rules are a study in hypocrisy. The California Constitution requires that all elections for partisan office be conducted in open nonpartisan primaries with the top two vote getters advancing to the general election. California’s presidential primary rules, however, are different. This is because, unlike races for governor, the legislature, and Congress, presidential primary voters are not selecting act

Voters added or expanded the use of ranked choice voting (RCV) in two US cities in the same week this month:  Redondo Beach, California, and Burlington, Vermont. An overwhelming majority of Redondo Beach citizens voted to add their city to the 6 California cities already using RCV (Albany, Berkeley, Oakland, Palm Desert, San Francisco, and San Leandro) and Eureka, which will use RCV for the first time in 2024. “Instead of low-turnout, toxic, and unrepresentative runoffs, RCV will give voters m

The lawsuit was originally filed in July 2019 by the Independent Voter Project (IVP) and 6 individual plaintiffs from across the political spectrum to prevent voter confusion in the 2020 primary...

Notable Republican and Democratic leaders in Rhode Island have come together to change how the state conducts its primary elections. The effort, called the People’s Primary, seeks to bring more competition and participation in state elections. “It has become obvious over the years that our primary elections are the most important in defining how we will be governed. The results over the last decade have indicated very serious problems,” said Hassenfeld Center for Leadership Founder Gary Sasse,

Arkansas State Senator Clarke Tucker (Little Rock) has introduced a state constitutional amendment that would implement a nonpartisan top-two primary system in Arkansas similar to the systems in place in California, Washington, and Alaska. SJR 4 would replace a primary system that divides voters between a Republican and Democratic primary ballot with primaries in which all voters and candidates, regardless of party, participate on a single ballot. The top two vote-getters move on the general el

Voters have expressed their desire to see systemic reform to how we elect our public officials. When asked what specific reforms they want in a recent poll, many said they would like to see a proportional representation system -- which would mean a complete election overhaul. What would proportional representation mean? Proportional representation is exactly how it sounds. An electoral district is not represented by a single seat, but multiple seats that are proportionally allocated among can

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