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As the political landscape in the United States gears up for the 2024 presidential election, the media's focus is often on the perceived threats to democracy posed by individual candidates or movements, like the rhetoric around the MAGA crowd and former President Donald Trump, who is treated as the

Photo Credit: Arizona Department of Transportation / Flickr Any substantial change to how US voters elect their representatives must start from a fundamental principle. For former Phoenix Mayor Paul Johnson this fundamental principle is that all voters should have an equal and meaningful voice in the electoral process. In Open Primaries' latest virtual discussion, OP President John Opdycke sat down with Johnson to discuss a coalition he, Chuck Coughlin, and Sara Smallhouse worked on for severa

Photo Credit: Solen Feyissa on Unsplash It’s been 20 years since Facebook broke onto the scene and began gathering data on millions of Americans. Every hour of every day, of every month, of every year, Silicon Valley continues to gather billions of data points about everyday Americans. They know what we want before we know we want it. And now, they’re ready to tell us who we will vote for before we’ve made up our own minds. In 2020, there were 159,633,396 total votes cast. Biden and Trump acc

We received your announcement that you will be stepping down as moderator of NBC’s “Meet The Press” with mixed reaction. Of course, we are happy that you are on to your next chapter and wish you all the best.

Four in five Arizona voters favor a nonpartisan primary system and nearly all voters believe election officials should function in a nonpartisan manner. This is according to a survey conducted by Arizona State University’s Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy. 

Thursday, June 8, marked 13 years since California voters approved Proposition 14, the nonpartisan top-two (Top-Two) initiative authored by the Independent Voter Project (IVP). The anniversary was accompanied by a new study that shows how impactful Top-Two has been in providing better elections for voters and a healthier political environment in Sacramento. The Unite America Institute issued a report titled “California’s Top-Two Primary: The Effects on Electoral Politics and Governance.” In it,

It is no coincidence that as the nation witnesses an explosion in pro-voter reform successes, partisan state lawmakers across the country are trying to undermine citizen initiatives, and block nonpartisan primary reform and new voting methods designed to give people more choice. In 2023, governors in Idaho and South Dakota have signed laws that prohibit the use of ranked choice voting (RCV) in their states. HB 598 in Montana, which seeks to do the same thing, has passed the legislature, while a

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

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

Editor's Note: This article originally published on The Fulcrum and has been republished on IVN with permission from the publisher. Four years ago, when the nation headed to the polls in the middle of Donald Trump’s divisive term as president, half of eligible voters cast a ballot. Last week, preliminary data shows overall turnout was down a few percentage points. But some states saw an increase in voter participation. According to preliminary data collected by the U.S. Election Project, three