Nebraska, landlocked deep in America’s heartland, has paradoxically set itself apart as an anomaly in the US political ecosystem -- from the way it allocates presidential electors, to the makeup of its legislature, to how state policymakers are elected. 

Some reformers even look at it as a potential model for what a better representative democracy looks like, and it is because of the nonpartisan manner by which legislators are elected, and the impact that has had on the legislative process. 

The Maine Secretary of State reported Wednesday that the campaign to repeal ranked choice voting for presidential elections in Maine failed to get enough valid signatures: 

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RCV advocates maintained that the people’s veto campaign was illegal to begin with since it targeted a bill, LD 1083, that had already become law. They also claimed that the campaign used out-of-state signature gatherers to collect signatures.

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on The Fulcrum, and has been republished on IVN with permission from the publisher.

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Good-government groups are launching a new push for campaign finance transparency during the presidential campaign.

Lori Thiel and Amy Tobia join host T.J. O’Hara on Deconstructed to discuss More Choice San Diego’s "Top 4 RCV" initiative. 

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on The Fulcrum and has been republished on IVN with permission from the publisher.

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A group supporting nonpartisan open primaries in Florida recently released a new ad urging voters to vote "Yes" on Amendment 3 in November. Amendment 3 would replace the state's closed partisan primary system with a nonpartisan top-two primary similar to the statewide primary systems in California and Washington.

This November, St. John’s County Florida elects a sheriff. It’s an important race as law enforcement culture and training is the subject of local and national debate--except 47.2% of voters in the county will be denied the right to vote -- how could this be? This is the land of the free and home of the brave, where the voice of the people stands above all. They are electing a sheriff and excluding half the county?  

The Naples Daily News Editorial Board penned a piece earlier this month condemning the widespread practice of “phantom candidacies,” which play an unfortunate role of shutting too many voters out of the elections process.

FairVote released the results of a new SurveyUSA poll Wednesday that found that Maine Republicans in the state’s second congressional district plan to reap the benefits of ranked choice voting in the party’s primary, despite opposition.