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The nonpartisan reform group Open Primaries hosted a virtual discussion Wednesday to talk about the growing demand for primary reform that gives all voters, regardless of political affiliation, an equal and meaningful say in elections. According to Open Primaries, local movements to reform the primaries have emerged in over a dozen states -- states that limit or completely restrict primary ballot access to members of the Republican and Democratic Parties. As over 90% of elected officials sit in

Independent voters are often ignored by the media and pollsters. They are vilified by the major parties for not picking a side. Yet, in the 2022 midterms and in every election in recent history, independent voters have defined the outcomes. Independent voters have decided presidential and high-profile US Senate and congressional races. Independent voters have also driven historic reform victories to give Americans elections that are fairer, more competitive, and more accountable. This is a seg

The ballot measure process has been critical to the success of nonpartisan reforms across the country. However, according to new research by RepresentUs, 11 states have proposed over 60 laws to make it harder for citizens to have a direct say in the way their state’s political process works. Citizens have used ballot initiatives to approve independent redistricting commissions, primary reform, new voting methods, anti-corruption laws and more. It has been the single greatest tool to challenge t

Andy Moore, Executive Director of the National Association of Nonpartisan Reformers (NANR), joins host T. J. O’Hara on Deconstructed to discuss that organization’s progress toward attaining nonpartisan reform. Mr. Moore serves as an entrepreneur-in-residence with Price College of Business at the University of Oklahoma, and he is also the founder of Let’s Fix This, which is focused upon building civic engagement and power for political reform. Given Mr. Moore’s diverse educational background (BS

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in The Fulcrum, and has been republished on IVN with permission from the publisher. ‍ Partisanship reached a boiling point in Texas over the weekend as Democratic lawmakers took a dramatic step to obstruct a GOP-backed bill that would impose severe limits on voting access. In the final hours of the legislative session, Democrats staged a dramatic walkout, leaving the state House without a quorum and therefore unable to hold a final vote on the

‍ Demographics in the American electorate are shifting, the needs and priorities of voters are changing, yet politics in the US hasn't changed much in the last half century. In fact, the only thing that has changed is that the government has gotten less and less responsive to voters. I discussed some of the driving forces behind this in a previous examination of what it means when reformers refer to the US political system as a two-party duopoly. Two private political organizations, the Republ

Independent voters are on the verge of being at least the second largest voting bloc in nearly all states that register voters by party. This is the findings of a report the Open Primaries Education Fund released back in November. Right now, voters registered independent (or unaffiliated, etc.) outnumber registered members of at least one of the major parties in 15 of the 30 states that register voters by party. OPEF projects most states will be added to this list by 2035. Also, for the firs

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on The Fulcrum and has been republished on IVN with permission from the publisher. ‍ Next year's redistricting landscape is, at best, a mixed bag for good-governance advocates. Although the mapmaking process has become fairer and less politicized in a handful of states over the past decade, partisan gerrymandering will still have a profound impact on representation across most of the country. Democrats had high hopes of taking back enough power

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on The Fulcrum and has been republished on IVN with permission from the publisher. ‍ Voting in the presidential election ends in 40 days, and states are still making adjustments to their rules and procedures. The coronavirus pandemic, along with a wave of litigation from voting rights groups and Democrats, has resulted in 34 states deciding to make it easier to cast a ballot this fall — either voluntarily or as the result of a lawsuit. Most of

What is Proposition 16? Proposition 16 is a constitutional amendment that would repeal Proposition 209, passed in 1996, from the California Constitution. Proposition 209 stated that discrimination and preferential treatment were prohibited in public employment, public education, and public contracting on account of a person's or group's race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin. Therefore, Proposition 209 banned the use of affirmative action involving race-based or sex-based preferences i