After a mere 15 tries, Kevin McCarthy finally holds the gavel as Speaker of the House. Drowned out in stories of successive floor votes and physical altercations between middle aged men were a few voices who proposed the idea of moderates from both parties coming together to elect a Speaker that represented the center, as opposed to the party’s extreme flank.

The 118th Congress is off to a rocky start. First, it took 15 votes for the majority to elect a Speaker – a debacle that included a scuffle on the House floor. Now, the majority has adopted new House rules that gut (quite literally) the Office of Congressional Ethics. 

Billionaire industry titan Mark Cuban has a solution for the ongoing Speaker dilemma is the US House: Use ranked choice voting.

Each year in November, California and Texas lawmakers from across the political spectrum, industry leaders, and policy experts come together in Hawaii to discuss the biggest issues affecting voters, businesses, and policymakers during the Independent Voter Project’s (IVP) Business and Leadership Policy Conference.

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.

The most critical movement right now in the US is to give voters an election system that is accountable, competitive, and free of corruption. Hundreds of organizations across the country are working toward meeting this goal, and many of the movement’s leaders met in December to celebrate victories and discuss next steps.

Editor's Note: This article, written by David Levins, originally published on The Fulcrum and has been re-published on IVN with permission from the publisher. Levine is an elections integrity fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy, which develops strategies to deter and defend against autocratic efforts to interfere in democratic institutions.

Moore v Harper is the single most important case before the Supreme Court as it pertains to the future of the democratic process. The decision could allow state lawmakers to undo decades-worth of progress in unrigging elections.

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. 

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.