Trump Says Fraud. Here's What ACTUALLY Happened in California

This week, Chad, Shawn, and Cara break down the five-day vote count that knocked Spencer Pratt out of the LA mayoral runoff - and why "fraud" is the wrong story. Cara walks through her viral article on Tom Steyer's $216 million spend, the DSA/progressive turnout machine, and how legal ballot harvesting in high-density neighborhoods delivered the late surge for Nithya Raman.

It Wasn’t Fraud. It’s Steyer $$$$.

The conspiracy theory is that California cheated. The reality is that Top Two forced Democrats to fight each other in public.

Independent Voter NewsCara Brown McCormick

Then the crew zooms out to the California governor's race, the bad-faith attacks on top-two primaries, and the record independent (NPP) turnout nobody's covering. Plus: Maine's remarkably civil ranked-choice governor's primary, a fight over slow vote counts that even the New York Times is picking, and a court challenge that could revive open primaries in Oklahoma. 

This episode is sponsored by the Independent Voter Project and produced by Olas Media. Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. 

Episode Highlights

In this episode of Independent Voter Podcast, Chad, Shawn, and Cara break down the 2026 Los Angeles mayoral race and the explosive controversy surrounding ballot harvesting in California. 

Progressive-aligned organizations — including the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Our Revolution, and SEIU — supercharged by billionaire Tom Steyer's $216 million campaign spend, deployed massive get-out-the-vote ground operations in high-density LA neighborhoods that ultimately helped Nithya Raman overtake Spencer Pratt to advance to the general election. 

The hosts clarify that while Trump's election fraud claims and election integrity concerns are driving the national conversation, the real story isn't fraud — it's a perfectly legal, dark money-adjacent nonprofit turnout machine that Republicans simply can't compete with in deep-blue urban areas.

The discussion pivots to the California nonpartisan top-two primary system and its impact on voter participation and independent voter rights.

The crew defends the top-two primary model against critics who mischaracterize its purpose, stressing that the system exists to give all voters — including California's No Party Preference (NPP) voters, now approaching 25% turnout — an equal voice regardless of party affiliation. 

The episode also spotlights two emerging election reform battlegrounds: Maine's ranked-choice voting (RCV) governor's race and Oklahoma's fight for open primaries. 

In Maine, RCV produced a rare positive-campaigning, nearly four-way split among Democratic gubernatorial candidates, showcasing how ranked-choice voting changes candidate behavior and voter empowerment. 

Meanwhile in Oklahoma, reformers are battling in the state Supreme Court over 58,000 disqualified signatures for State Question 836, a nonpartisan primary ballot initiative that would open primaries to independent voters currently locked out of the system. 

Chad, Cara, and Shawn also weigh in on California's mail-in ballot receipt deadlines and the ongoing national debate over election night results, ballot curing, and election certification timelines in the context of growing voter distrust.