Democrats and MAGA Are Working Together on THIS (Not What You Expect)

Critics PROVED WRONG About the “Top-Two” Primary in California (It WORKS)

Fresh off the California gubernatorial primary, Chad, Cara, and Ethan break down why the "top-two will produce two Republicans" narrative was a manufactured fear - and why it collapsed the moment voters actually voted, with Steve Hilton and Xavier Becerra heading toward a traditional R-vs-D general. They dig into who was pushing that panic and why (fundraising, juicing turnout, and a quiet war on top-two itself), including the uncomfortable detail that a party chair reportedly asked a leading minority candidate to drop out. Stick around for the bigger question the reform movement keeps dodging - and a pitch for what could come after top-two.  This episode is sponsored by the Independent Voter Project [https://independentvoterproject.org] and produced by Olas Media [http://olasmedia.com].  Listen to more episodes and read in-depth coverage at: https://ivn.us [https://ivn.us]  and https://independentvoterproject.org [https://independentvoterproject.org]  Follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Chapters: 00:00:00 – Independent Voters Win the Jungle Primary 00:00:51 – California Primary Results: Hilton vs. Becerra & Steyer's $200M Loss 00:03:37 – Tom Steyer's Campaign: Ranked Choice Voting & Positive Politics 00:07:32 – What if California Had Top Four + Ranked Choice Voting? 00:09:33 – Latino Voters & the Open Primary: 80% Want to Keep It 00:11:45 – The "Two Republicans" Scare: Manufactured Fear & Biased Polling 00:14:47 – Why Both Parties Hate Top Two — and That's Exactly Why It Works 00:16:26 – Where Does the Right to Vote Come From? The Core Question of Reform 00:18:22 – Reforming the Reform: The Case for Top Four + RCV in California 00:22:13 – Republicans, Relevance & the Self-Inflicted Wound of Closing Primaries   Support the show: https://ivn.us/podcasts/ [https://ivn.us/podcasts/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

How Party Insiders KILLED Florida's Open Primary (57% of Voters Said YES)

57% of Floridians voted to open their primaries. They still lost. Chad Peace and Cara McCormick sit down with Political No Brainer host Jeff Rabinowitz to unpack how Florida's two-party system buries voting reform - and the closed-primary lawsuit now knocking on the Supreme Court's door.  This episode is sponsored by the Independent Voter Project [https://independentvoterproject.org] and produced by Olas Media [http://olasmedia.com].  Listen to more episodes and read in-depth coverage at: https://ivn.us [https://ivn.us] and https://independentvoterproject.org [https://independentvoterproject.org]  Follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Chapters: 00:00:00 – Are Political Parties Just “Make Wrong Machines”? 00:01:03 – Meet Jeff Rabinowitz and the Political No Brainer Podcast 00:02:00 – Florida’s Closed Primaries and Independent Voters 00:02:51 – Why Florida Requires 60% for Constitutional Amendments 00:04:19 – Millions of Independent Voters Locked Out 00:05:29 – Why Independent Candidates Struggle in Florida 00:06:49 – The Florida Supreme Court Challenge on Voting Rights 00:09:11 – Is Florida Really as Partisan as the Media Says? 00:11:21 – Guns, Culture, and Political Identity in Florida 00:14:07 – Jeff Rabinowitz’s Advice for Independent-Minded Voters 00:16:18 – What Does It Mean to Be “Independent Minded”? 00:18:54 – Why Voting for Independents Matters Support the show: https://ivn.us/podcasts/ [https://ivn.us/podcasts/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Democrats and MAGA Are Working Together on THIS (Not What You Expect)

You'd think Democrats and MAGA Republicans agree on nothing - but they just quietly teamed up to do one specific thing: shut 7 million California independent voters out of the primary. We're naming names. Chad, Cara, and Shawn break down the bipartisan effort to undo California's top-two nonpartisan primary - with Democratic consultant Steve Maviglio and former CA GOP director Ron Nehring leading the charge, joined improbably by Lorena Gonzalez on the left and Carl DeMaio on the right. Politico just covered the More Choice California Coalition fighting back, and the crew gets into why "voter confusion" is a manufactured talking point. Chad lays out the 115-year reform fight, Cara walks through which constitutional candidates actually responded to IVP's survey (and which Secretary of State conveniently didn't), and Shawn covers DC's city council quietly defunding Initiative 83 after 73% of voters passed it.  This episode is sponsored by the Independent Voter Project [https://independentvoterproject.org] and produced by Olas Media [http://olasmedia.com].  Listen to more episodes and read in-depth coverage at: https://ivn.us [https://ivn.us]  and https://independentvoterproject.org [https://independentvoterproject.org]  Follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Chapters: 00:00:00 – Are California Parties Trying to Shut Out Independent Voters? 00:00:33 – The Growing Fight Over California’s Top Two Primary 00:01:45 – Why Democrats and Republicans Both Want Control Back 00:03:03 – Polling, Political Strategy, and the Battle Over Open Primaries 00:04:30 – Why California’s Primary System Confuses Independent Voters 00:06:56 – The Real Strategy Behind Closed Primaries 00:08:00 – Who Owns Elections: Political Parties or the Voters? 00:09:42 – Is California Really Becoming a One-Party State? 00:12:53 – New Data Shows Independents Surpassing Republicans in California 00:15:29 – Candidates Respond to Independent Voter Rights Survey Support the show: https://ivn.us/podcasts/ [https://ivn.us/podcasts/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

The Bipartisan Plot to Lock 6.2 Million California Voters Out of Elections

Chad, Cara, and Shawn break down the brewing bipartisan campaign to repeal California's Top Two primary - exactly the move IVP has been predicting for months. They unpack the manufactured "two Republicans in the top two" panic, why Shirley Weber and party leadership keep siding against independent voters, and why the academic research (yes, including Cambridge) backs Top Two. Then Ethan drops fresh IVP polling out of LA - Spencer Pratt, Karen Bass, and a governor's race where Steve Hilton is suddenly playing for Trump's endorsement instead of reform. The conversation closes with gerrymandering, Prop 50 fallout, and why packing districts may have accidentally handed independents more power than ever.  This episode is sponsored by the Independent Voter Project [https://independentvoterproject.org] and produced by Olas Media [http://olasmedia.com].  Listen to more episodes and read in-depth coverage at: https://ivn.us [https://ivn.us]  and https://independentvoterproject.org [https://independentvoterproject.org]  Follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Chapters: 00:00:00 – California Parties Push to Repeal the Top Two Primary 00:02:17 – Why Party Leaders Want Control Back 00:03:25 – The Fight Over Independent Voter Rights 00:05:04 – Closed Primaries vs. More Voter Choice 00:06:07 – Big Money, Party Power, and Democracy Claims 00:08:09 – How Top Two Changed California Politics 00:12:13 – The More Choice California Coalition Explained 00:14:02 – Alaska, Ranked Choice Voting, and Reform Momentum 00:17:16 – Polarization, Voter Exhaustion, and Broken Incentives 00:20:14 – New Polling, Independent Voters, and the 2026 Governor Race Support the show: https://ivn.us/podcasts/ [https://ivn.us/podcasts/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

The TRUTH About California's "Jungle" Primary (Democrats are WRONG)

Cara and Shawn break down the manufactured "jungle primary" panic out of California (there's roughly an 8% chance of a two-Republican general), then get into Alaska's Top Four success story, Wes Moore's surprise open-primary moment on Bill Maher and the awkward walkback that followed, and a Supreme Court bombshell out of Louisiana that just got an entire election canceled. Chad Peace jumps in to explain why the courts police racial gerrymandering but won't touch partisan gerrymandering - and what that means for independent voters.  This episode is sponsored by the Independent Voter Project [https://independentvoterproject.org] and produced by Olas Media [http://olasmedia.com].  Listen to more episodes and read in-depth coverage at: https://ivn.us [https://ivn.us]  and https://independentvoterproject.org [https://independentvoterproject.org]  Follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Chapters: 00:00:00 – Debate Fallout and Top Two Primary Controversy 00:02:20 – Ballots Drop and the Governor’s Race Heats Up 00:03:07 – The “Two Republicans” Narrative Explained 00:04:44 – How Top Two Actually Works vs “Jungle Primary” Myth 00:07:30 – Reform Options: Top Four, Top Five, and Alaska Model 00:10:18 – Wes Moore, Independents, and Political Incentives 00:13:53 – Closed Primaries and Power Behind the Scenes 00:19:23 – Supreme Court Ruling and Redistricting Fallout 00:24:25 – Gerrymandering, Race, and Partisan Advantage 00:28:02 – Independent Voters and the Fight for Equal Voting Rights Support the show: https://ivn.us/podcasts/ [https://ivn.us/podcasts/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.