Don’t Kill Top Two. Upgrade It: A Smarter Way to Elect California’s Governor
The answer to today’s crowded field is not retreat. It is modernization. Instead of empowering party gatekeepers, we can empower voters with more choice, less vote splitting, and majority-supported outcomes....
Independent Voter Podcast
How It Really Works
New IVP 2026 California Governor Poll: What the Toplines Don’t Tell You
Using verified California voter file data, IVP surveyed high-propensity voters from February 13 through 20. The poll tested first-choice ballot preferences alongside issue intensity on affordability and the cost of living, immigration enforcement, more choice reform, and more....
23 Feb, 2026
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10 min read
81% of Americans Say Money Controls Politics – Can a Constitutional Amendment Fix It?
Polls consistently show that nearly all Americans across the political spectrum agree that there is too much money in politics – whether from foreign sources, corporations, or so-called “dark money” groups. ...
23 Feb, 2026
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13 min read
10 Reasons Why the Congressional Stock Trading Ban Will Never Pass
The overlap between committee assignments and stock ownership is not automatically illegal. Because the current legal framework permits this proximity as long as disclosure rules are followed, lawmakers are not operating under a system that forces change....
20 Feb, 2026
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4 min read
Are Parties Using Election Rules to Control You? Voter ID, Texas Primaries and the FCC Power Grab
In this episode of the Independent Voter Podcast, we debate election integrity, voter suppression concerns, automatic voter registration through DMVs, and whether federalizing election rules undermines states’ rights under Article I of the Constitution. ...
19 Feb, 2026
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2 min read
Report: Cannabis Industry Doesn’t Have a Youth Marketing Crisis - It Has a Definition Crisis
California lawmakers convened a joint legislative oversight hearing on February 17 to examine concerns that unclear cannabis packaging rules are undermining youth protections....
19 Feb, 2026
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6 min read
Virginia House of Delegates Passes Ranked Choice Voting Expansion
The bill, introduced by Delegate Katrina Callsen, authorizes a permanent option for ranked choice voting expansion. This allows cities and counties to implement the reform for any and/or all of their elections, including mayoral elections....
17 Feb, 2026
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2 min read
83% Want Voter ID - So Why Is Congress Fighting It? SAVE Act Explained
Throughout this episode of the Independent Voter Podcast, the central theme remains clear: Americans broadly support common-sense reforms to strengthen election integrity and government accountability, but partisan strategy and fundraising incentives continue to stall meaningful change....
16 Feb, 2026
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2 min read
Missouri Candidates Still Don’t Know Their Districts as GOP Map Faces Lawsuits and Veto Referendum Fight
Candidate filings for Congress are set to begin soon in Missouri, yet the people looking to run still have no idea which districts they will be campaigning in as multiple lawsuits against Missouri’s new congressional map have yet to be settled....
16 Feb, 2026
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10 min read
Why Congress Can't (Won't) Ever Quit Trading Stocks
Imagine a lawmaker on the House Armed Services Committee who owns stock in a major defense contractor voting on military spending or weapons systems tied to that company. ...
10 Feb, 2026
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6 min read
Republican Rep Says Voter ID Should Be Mandatory – and Free
Republican U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil says the federal government should not only mandate voter ID in federal elections, but the government should also provide these IDs for free ahead of a House vote on the SAVE America Act (H.R.7296)....
09 Feb, 2026
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3 min read
11 Ways the MEGA Act in Congress Tries to Control How You Vote
In the final reform roundup of January, I briefly discussed a new bill in the US House that attempts to overhaul elections in every state called the Make Elections Great Again Act (or MEGA Act for short). This bill touches on everything from:...
06 Feb, 2026
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13 min read
How the 'Politics Industry' Breaks Everything: ICE, CA Governor’s Race, and Reform
Steve Peace -- co-founder of the Independent Voter Project and architect of California’s Top Two primary -- breaks down the wide-open California governor’s race and why campaigns still think in party buckets. The hosts dig into open primaries plus ranked-choice, ICE/immigration and civil liberties, ...
05 Feb, 2026
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2 min read





















