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To Avoid Confusion, Should RCV Just Be Called Instant Runoff Elections?
To Avoid Confusion, Should RCV Just Be Called Instant Runoff Elections?
In discussions with an elderly voter in Colorado about Proposition 131, the unsuccessful 2024 ballot measure to create a nonpartisan primary with ranked choice voting (RCV), in the general election, we learned something important. This individual had voted against Proposition 131, casting his mail ballot on the day he received it. A week later, he received a campaign ad mailer that Colorado’s governor and Denver’s mayor had endorsed Proposition 131, which may have influenced his decision.
11 Mar, 2025
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5 min read
Canada's Next Prime Minister Was Chosen Using Ranked Choice Voting
Canada's Next Prime Minister Was Chosen Using Ranked Choice Voting
On March 9, the Liberal Party of Canada held an election to determine who will lead the party using a reform growing in popularity in cities across the US: ranked choice voting.  The winner of that election: Former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney.
10 Mar, 2025
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2 min read
Chuck Todd to Discuss Advancing Reform in a World Without Trust
Chuck Todd to Discuss Advancing Reform in a World Without Trust
On Tuesday, March 18, the nonprofit reform group Open Primaries will host an online virtual discussion featuring a legendary figure in journalism: Chuck Todd, who moderated NBC's Meet the Press for nearly 10 years.
10 Mar, 2025
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1 min read
How An Unresponsive Government Is Affecting Public Support for Foreign Aid
How An Unresponsive Government Is Affecting Public Support for Foreign Aid
The heated confrontation in the White House Friday between Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump and his vice president, JD Vance, continues to spur debate across the nation as voters are split on the US's support of Ukraine in its war with Russia.
04 Mar, 2025
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4 min read
Independent Voters Have a Question: Where is Congress?
Independent Voters Have a Question: Where is Congress?
If real, lasting change is to occur, it must come through Congress—not merely through executive orders that can be reversed by future administrations or overturned in court.
04 Mar, 2025
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4 min read
Facing Defections from Working-Class Voters, Democrats Turn to Independents for Help
Facing Defections from Working-Class Voters, Democrats Turn to Independents for Help
Democrats are taking stock. Some are arguing for a major overhaul in light of growing defections of working-class, Black, and Latino voters. Others want to stay the course. Some want to work with Trump when possible while others advocate for a program of permanent resistance.
25 Feb, 2025
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4 min read
What The American Oligarchy Really Looks Like
What The American Oligarchy Really Looks Like
Look up oligarch in a dictionary and you may find it defined as “someone who is extremely rich and powerful, especially a person from Russia who became rich after the end of the former Soviet Union.” Oligarchy is defined as “government by a small group of very powerful people.”
25 Feb, 2025
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4 min read
15 Years After Citizens United, Seattle Can Show the Way Forward
15 Years After Citizens United, Seattle Can Show the Way Forward
January 21, 2025, marked the 15th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling, a decision that opened the floodgates for unlimited corporate spending in elections. Since that ruling, super PACs and outside spending have skyrocketed, and the voices of everyday voters have been drowned out by wealthy donors and corporate interests. The impact of Citizens United is clear: the political system is increasingly controlled by the rich, while ordinary voters are left behind.
20 Feb, 2025
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3 min read
The Great Hemp Hoax: White Paper Reveals How Synthetic Cannabis Masquerades as Legal Hemp
The Great Hemp Hoax: White Paper Reveals How Synthetic Cannabis Masquerades as Legal Hemp
California consumers who believe they are purchasing legal, natural hemp products may be getting more than they bargained for. A shocking new study reveals that much of what’s sold as “hemp” today is, ...
19 Feb, 2025
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7 min read
Here We Go Again: Why the Threat of Government Shutdowns Always Looms
Here We Go Again: Why the Threat of Government Shutdowns Always Looms
Before going home for Christmas, Congress passed a continuing resolution to fund the federal government through Friday, March 14, 2025. This was essentially a stop-gap measure to buy Congress more time to negotiate a full-year funding bill. Those discussions between leading House and Senate appropriators are underway as Congress looks to avoid a government shutdown.
13 Feb, 2025
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8 min read