Election Reform - Independent Voter News (Page 2)

9 Ways Ranked Choice Ballots Fix What’s Broken in American Elections

America accepts spoilers, wasted votes, and non-majority winners as normal. Ranked ballots show we don’t have to.

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/ August 21, 2026

9 Ways Ranked Choice Ballots Fix What’s Broken in American Elections

Missouri Voters Got the Signatures. A Judge Says They Still Can’t Vote on Trump-Backed Map

A Missouri judge blocked voters from using a referendum to overturn a Republican-backed congressional map, despite the initiative collecting over 300,000 signatures. The group behind the effort said it will appeal.

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Shawn Griffiths

/ August 20, 2026

Missouri Voters Got the Signatures. A Judge Says They Still Can’t Vote on Trump-Backed Map

Florida’s ‘Phantom Candidates’ Are Back And They’re Still Locking Voters Out

Florida's closed primary system allows single write-in candidates to block voters outside the dominant party from participating in elections, effectively turning primaries into general elections that exclude 3.3 million independents.

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Shawn Griffiths

/ August 19, 2026

Florida’s ‘Phantom Candidates’ Are Back And They’re Still Locking Voters Out

Alaska Caps Campaign Cash — Now Voters Face a Dark Money Fight

Alaska voters approved campaign contribution limits in Tuesday's primary, but face another vote in November on whether to repeal disclosure rules that expose sources of political spending.

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Shawn Griffiths

/ August 19, 2026

Alaska Caps Campaign Cash — Now Voters Face a Dark Money Fight

Americans Are Leaving the Two Parties Faster Than the System Can Trap Them

Independent voters are now the largest political bloc in America, but closed primaries and two-party ballots still leave millions with nowhere else to go.

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Russell Dutton

/ August 18, 2026

Americans Are Leaving the Two Parties Faster Than the System Can Trap Them

America’s Democracy Is Cracking. The Revolution to Rebuild It Has Already Begun.

From a national popular vote and ranked choice voting to proportional representation, court reform and a constitutional right to vote, Rob Richie argues the next era of American democracy will require rewriting the rules.

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Rob Richie

/ August 18, 2026

America’s Democracy Is Cracking. The Revolution to Rebuild It Has Already Begun.

DNC Backs Down on Ranked Choice Voting Ban After Backlash

The Democratic National Committee reversed its proposed ban on ranked choice voting in the 2028 presidential primary after backlash from party members and reformers, reverting delegate selection rules to their 2024 language.

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Shawn Griffiths

/ August 17, 2026

DNC Backs Down on Ranked Choice Voting Ban After Backlash

Missouri Secretary of State Admits Popular Amendment Qualified — Says Voters Still Won’t Get a Say

Missouri's Secretary of State admitted in court that a proposed amendment to protect citizen initiatives had enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, but is still refusing to put it before voters.

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Shawn Griffiths

/ August 17, 2026

Missouri Secretary of State Admits Popular Amendment Qualified — Says Voters Still Won’t Get a Say

We Expect Election Referees to Be Neutral. So Why Do We Make Them Pick a Team?

We trust secretaries of state to administer elections impartially, even though most are chosen through partisan contests that reward the very political pressures they are expected to resist.

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Joseph Cerrone, Ph.D

/ August 17, 2026

We Expect Election Referees to Be Neutral. So Why Do We Make Them Pick a Team?

New Texas Secretary of State Holds the Line Against GOP Push to Close Primaries

Despite pressure from within his own party, Robert Howden says Texas will defend its open primary system — and that any effort to close it belongs in the Legislature, not the courts.

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Jeremy Gruber

/ August 15, 2026

New Texas Secretary of State Holds the Line Against GOP Push to Close Primaries

California’s Election Referees Wear Party Jerseys. Two Amendments Aim to Change That.

California legislators introduce two constitutional amendments to remove party control from elections: one making the secretary of state a nonpartisan office, another transferring ballot language authority to a nonpartisan body.

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Shawn Griffiths

/ August 13, 2026

California’s Election Referees Wear Party Jerseys. Two Amendments Aim to Change That.

68,000 ‘Zombie Votes’ Haunted Wisconsin’s Democratic Primary

Over 68,000 Wisconsin Democratic primary voters cast ballots for candidates who dropped out before the election, highlighting how ranked choice voting could prevent votes from being wasted when candidates exit the race.

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Shawn Griffiths

/ August 13, 2026

68,000 ‘Zombie Votes’ Haunted Wisconsin’s Democratic Primary