Independent Voter Podcast

The same young Latino voters who swung to Donald Trump in 2024 just handed New York to Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani - and no, they haven't changed their minds about anything. Strategist Mike Madrid explains why the fastest-growing bloc in American politics is walking out on both parties at once.  Madrid - author of The Latino Century - joins the show to blow up the way both parties rea...

We sit down with Jeremy, Senior VP of Open Primaries, to dig into a new IVP/Open Primaries poll of registered NYC Democrats - and what it reveals is wild. Jeremy lays out "the big lie" about open vs. closed primaries, why ~40% of NYC Democrats (and two out of three Latino Democrats) don't identify with the party they're registered in, and how a 10% turnout primary ends up deciding who actually run...

Lisa D.T. Rice, the driving force behind DC's Initiative 83 to permit ranked choice voting and open primaries, joins the show to explain how a missing ballot turned her into one of the most relentless reformers in the country. She breaks down why closed primaries are really a voting-rights problem, how she took on two fights at once - open primaries and ranked choice voting - in the heart of a 95%...

This week, Chad, Shawn, and Cara break down the five-day vote count that knocked Spencer Pratt out of the LA mayoral runoff - and why "fraud" is the wrong story. Cara walks through her viral article on Tom Steyer's $216 million spend, the DSA/progressive turnout machine, and how legal ballot harvesting in high-density neighborhoods delivered the late surge for Nithya Raman. Then the crew zooms out...

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...

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 and produced by Olas Media .  Listen to m...

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...

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 fres...

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 e...

Cara McCormick sits down with former California state senator Steve Peace - author of the Top Two primary law - to react to the California governor's race debate. They unpack the most memorable moments (Becerra's "Steve Hilton's daddy" line, Hilton waving the insurance statute at Becerra on stage, Katie Porter catching Tom Steyer on his own contradiction), why the moderators' yes-or-no format is k...

Eric Swalwell went from Democratic frontrunner in the California governor's race to political exile in a matter of days - and somehow nobody in Washington is surprised. Chad, Shawn, and Ethan break down why this "open secret" finally went public and who's really pulling the strings. Then, the conversation shifts to who benefits in a wide-open governor's race, why IVP's nonpartisan poll is the only...

Breaking down Steve Hilton's Trump endorsement, why two Republicans advancing is never going to happen, and how Democrats may be using that fake threat to dismantle nonpartisan primaries altogether. Plus: the Swalwell rumors making waves before June 2nd, a Green Party candidate kicked off the ballot over tax returns, and where the massive undecided independent voter bloc actually lands. This episo...

Trump just signed an executive order directing DHS to build a federal voter list and instructing the USPS to only deliver ballots to "verified" voters. Legal experts say it's unconstitutional. Steve Peace - the man who wrote California's nonpartisan primary - joins the Independent Voter Podcast to break down what the order actually does, why the USPS argument is cleverer than you think, and how Ca...

This week on the Independent Voter Podcast, California sheriff Chad Bianco seizes 650,000 ballots while running for governor, the Supreme Court takes on mail-in ballot deadlines that could invalidate millions of votes, and TSA agents walk off the job unpaid while Washington refuses a deal that's already on the table. Plus, one congressman just made a move that almost nobody in U.S. history has mad...

What happens when only a small percentage of voters actually decide elections? TSA delays and government shutdowns. This is the end result of a political system driven by closed primaries, low turnout, and strategic campaigning. Chad Peace, Cara McCormick, and Shawn Griffiths break down how the spoiler effect, media influence, and super PAC spending shape outcomes long before voters have a real sa...

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. We unpack the SAVE America Act, the cost and paperwork of proving citizenship, and the independent case for balancing election security w...

Money in politics isn't just a talking point - it's reshaping every policy outcome in Washington. This week, Chad and Cara sit down with Tiffany Muller, President of End Citizens United, a 4-million-member organization fighting to get dark money out of our elections and power back to the people. They dig into the real mechanics: the stock trading ban, discharge petitions, transparency legislation,...

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. in the GOP primary between Ken Paxton and John Cornyn. This episode is sponsored b...

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. This episode is sponsored by the Independent Voter Project and produced by Olas Media .&...

Are election rules protecting voters or protecting parties? Chad Peace and Cara McCormick break down voter ID laws, Texas Republicans shutting out independents, the FCC's move against late night TV, and why Gallup stopped polling. Independent voters are nearly half the electorate,  and the parties are scared.  This episode is sponsored by the Independent Voter Project and produced by Ola...

The House just passed the SAVE America Act - national voter ID + proof of citizenship to register. On the Independent Voter Podcast, we unpack what’s in the bill, why polls show broad support for voter ID, and the sticking points: which IDs count (student ID?), costs (should IDs be free?), and whether new rules could block eligible voters before 2026.  Listen to more episodes and join t...

Emmy-winning investigative reporter Chris Papst (Project Baltimore) unpacks Failure Factory : soaring Baltimore City Public Schools budgets, stagnant outcomes, grade-changing allegations, and public-records battles that raise waste and potential fraud red flags. What real accountability could look like for taxpayers, parents, and students. As the nation grapples with government fraud allegations a...

Steve Peace, co-founder of the Independent Voter Project and architect of California’s top-two primary, breaks down the wide-open CA governor’s race and why campaigns still think in party buckets. The hosts dig into open primaries + ranked-choice, ICE/immigration and civil liberties, voter ID and ballot security, and the controversy over seized Fulton County ballots—plus a quick...

Does the 4th Amendment protect only U.S. citizens - or everyone on U.S. soil? Chad and Cara dig into warrants, search-and-seizure limits, and how immigration enforcement tests constitutional boundaries. They also weigh the politics of voter ID - why it polls well, how ballot measures get framed, and what it means for trust and access in elections. Listen to more episodes and join the conversation...

Political strategist and writer Gregory Graf joins the Independent Voter Podcast to break down Idaho’s semi-closed primaries, rising outside PAC money, and the growing split inside the GOP. Drawing on his reporting and analysis at Political Potatoes ( https://politicalpotatoes.substack.com/) the hosts explore why open/nonpartisan primaries (and where ranked-choice fits) could change incentiv...