Thursday, June 8, marked 13 years since California voters approved Proposition 14, the nonpartisan top-two (Top-Two) initiative authored by the Independent Voter Project (IVP).

New Mexico elections have long been plagued by a lack of competition and unequal treatment of voters who choose not to affiliate with a political party. Yet, according to New Mexico Open Elections, the political landscape is shifting in the favor of nonpartisan reform.

Independent voters are not allowed to participate in taxpayer-funded primary elections, despite the fact that these elections are almost always the most critical stage of the electoral process. Legislative districts are so safe for one party or the other that half the seats go uncontested.

Independent and third-party efforts are no strangers to attacks in the media and from party elites. The latest victim of an organized takedown of a challenger to the two parties has been No Labels, the centrist group organizing a 2024“Presidential Unity Ticket” to offer independent and moderate voters an alternative to the likely Democratic and Republican nominees: Joe Biden and Donald Trump. 

Editor's Note: This op-ed originally published on The Fulcrum and has been republished on IVN with permission from the publisher. 

A former member of Congress and two national reform groups have filed letters with the California Supreme Court supporting the Independent Voter Project’s (IVP) lawsuit that challenges the state’s cumbersome and confusing semi-closed presidential primary rules.

Editor's Note: This piece originally published on The Fulcrum and has been re=published on IVN with permission from the publisher. The authors are Todd Connor and Eric Bronner, who are Navy veterans and co-founders of Veterans for Political Innovation.

The Independent Voter Project has filed a petition with the California Supreme Court to hear its lawsuit challenging the state’s semi-closed presidential primary, which the group asserts has caused widespread voter confusion and suppressed the votes of millions of Californians.

Six Republican candidates have launched campaigns for the 2024 presidential primary, and there are still over a dozen potential candidates that could enter the race. Citizen Data asked voters, “in such a crowded field would you like to rank your choices?”

61% of poll respondents said they were at least “somewhat interested” in the option, including the same percentage of Republican respondents.