Americans don’t lack political opinions. They lack candidates willing—or able—to overcome the money, party gatekeeping, ballot access rules, and other barriers that keep so many elections from ever becoming competitive.
Fourteen California Democrats co-sponsor a constitutional amendment to protect independent voters' right to participate in all publicly funded elections, including primaries, amid a coordinated effort to repeal the state's nonpartisan top-two primary system.
Nearly 500,000 Oklahoma independent voters can vote on a voter ID amendment Tuesday but are locked out of the Republican gubernatorial runoff that will effectively decide the next governor in the deep red state.
Bill Hill finished second in Alaska’s top-four primary and now takes on Republican Rep. Nick Begich III in a ranked-choice general election — while voters simultaneously decide whether to repeal the system that helped put an independent in contention.
Suzette Valladares became the first Latina Republican to serve in both houses of the California Legislature by refusing to treat setbacks as dead ends. In 2025, Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones appointed her caucus whip.
A Missouri judge blocked voters from using a referendum to overturn a Republican-backed congressional map, despite the initiative collecting over 300,000 signatures. The group behind the effort said it will appeal.
