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The National Association of Nonpartisan Reformers (NANR) held its 9th annual summit in Miami this week following a year of political chaos and partisan machinations that put power before representation, accountability, and fairness.

Independent Voter News is saddened to share the passing of Bob Foster, a trusted advisor to the Independent Voter Project and a longtime friend of our organization. He died on Sunday at the age of 78.

Earlier this week, a three-judge panel blocked a mid-decade gerrymander by the Texas Legislature designed to bolster the Republican Party’s razor-thin majority in the U.S. House, setting the stage for what could become a complex legal matter.

The U.S. has entered Day 22 of the latest government shutdown with no end in sight. As pundits expect it to surpass the 35-day record set during Trump’s first term, a new Gallup poll shows voters’ approval of Congress has plummeted in the last month. Yet, for congressional leaders, there isn’t any urgency to re-open the government. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries trade jabs back and forth in the media, but the blame game continues to be prioritized over solutions.

While appearing on CNN host Michael Smerconish’s show, former Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, now a registered independent, told Smerconish that “we have to have open primaries” in order to get candidates who prioritize representation to run and have a chance to win.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is taking the extraordinary step of refusing to defend the state’s election laws and the Texas secretary of state in a federal lawsuit filed by his own political party, even as he runs in the very election those laws govern. 

Every major voting rights movement in U.S. history – whether successful or not – has intertwined with landmark litigation. This was the case for women’s suffrage. It was the case for civil rights. And it is the case in the ongoing effort to protect the right of all voters to have equal participation in taxpayer-funded elections – something millions of independent voters are denied across the U.S.

Right now, the divide between the Republican and Democratic Parties appears beyond repair. The political rhetoric is toxic, the nation’s leadership puts party gain before lasting solutions, and few voters actually feel heard by the people elected to represent them. At a time when it seems things will only get worse from here, the Independent Voter Project filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court along with Open Primaries and the Forward Party in support of a lawsuit that targets one of the biggest culprits behind all of this.

Imagine showing up to vote in November, proud that you are doing your civic duty, only to learn that the real contest happened six months ago without you. The winner was decided in a low-turnout primary while you were busy living your life. This is not a conspiracy. It is how the system was built.

The next big voting rights case the Supreme Court of the United States could consider wasn’t filed by the ACLU, the League of Women Voters, Common Cause, or another household name when it comes to voter rights.