Former Maine Republican Senate President Rick Bennett is running for governor as an independent, arguing that the two-party system itself is corrupt and a major cause of government dysfunction.
In this episode of the Independent Voter Podcast, Chad and Shawn sit down with Lisa Rice, founder of Grow Democracy DC and a leading voice in the election reform movement.
The Independent Voter Project (IVP) released a new poll this week that shows a seismic shift in the California governor’s race. But on Reddit, it also hit a nerve for many voters calling for ranked choice elections.
Most Americans support voter ID, so why is this fight so explosive? It’s simple: the two-party system keeps turning a broadly popular reform into a partisan weapon. Instead of solving the issue, both sides use it to energize their base and deepen distrust.
James Talarico wins Texas’ Democratic Senate primary as campaigns point to unusually high independent participation in the state’s open primary system. Then Dallas County’s last-minute switch back to precinct-only voting sparks confusion, long lines, and a legal fight over ballots cast after 7 p.m.
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.
As February wrapped up, it was reported that President Donald Trump had nominated two Republicans for the Federal Elections Commission after 10 months of the agency being unable to perform its basic functions.
Tune in for our independent breakdown of Trump’s record-length 2026 State of the Union: voter ID + proof of citizenship, immigration rhetoric, affordability vs “winning” messaging, a rare bipartisan beat on banning stock trading, and the moment the chamber unified around a Coast Guard rescue.
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.
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.
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.
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.
