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Much of the election coverage on Tuesday focused on the New York primaries, especially in NYC and the hotly contested ranked choice election for mayor. What got less attention, however, were the 3.5 million independent voters in the state locked out of elections they paid for.

For the third time in history, New York City voters used ranked choice voting (RCV) to determine their party nominees in Tuesday’s citywide primary elections. First implemented in 2021, the system was used in that year’s highly competitive Democratic primary, where Eric Adams ultimately secured the nomination and went on to become mayor. It was used again in 2023 without incident.

We’re halfway into 2025 and the year has already delivered several wins for independent voters and their right to equal participation in elections following a campaign cycle in which statewide ballot measure losses threatened to slow down the movement.

ICE raids, Los Angeles riots, “No King” protests. It’s all people can talk about these days as immigration is front and center in the American social and political zeitgeist. For many voters, this all may seem familiar.

Showing an independent streak in keeping with Maine’s political tradition, Sen. Rick Bennett (R–Oxford) broke ranks with his party this week to join 91 Democrats in supporting a bill that would finally fulfill the will of Maine voters: implementing ranked choice voting (RCV) in all state general elections.

New Jersey will hold its statewide primary elections on Tuesday, June 10, to determine who will appear in the general election for the highest offices in the state, including governor. These are important elections – and yet they will be decided by a marginal percentage of voters.

The Trump administration has proposed reversing a Biden-era policy that barred new oil, gas, and mining development across much of Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve (NPR-A), a vast, ecologically and economically significant area roughly the size of Indiana. 

A surprise last-minute bill to open primary elections to Nevada’s largest voting bloc, registered unaffiliated voters, moved quickly through the state legislature and was approved by a majority of lawmakers on the last day of the legislative session Monday.

As the Senate begins debate Monday on President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” polling underscores a widening gap between congressional Republicans and the independent voters they will need to win future elections. At the center of the conflict is Medicaid.

US Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire) have united in opposition to the Trump administration’s decision to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghan nationals, highlighting the severe consequences for Afghan women and girls in particular.