Parties should be responsive to voters — not the other way around.
Manipulated districts. Closed primaries. Unlimited political money. These aren't side effects — they're features of a system built to protect parties from competition. Since 2006, IVP has been passing initiatives, filing lawsuits, and educating voters to change the rules. Less partisan elections, less partisan representatives.
Where we're fighting now.
These are IVP's active reform initiatives — each targeting a different structural barrier that keeps elections accountable to parties instead of voters.
Open Primaries for Every Voter
Should you have to join a private political party to vote in a taxpayer-funded election? IVP doesn't think so. In states with closed primaries, millions of registered voters are shut out of the elections that effectively decide who represents them.
More Choice Voting
When elections offer only two viable choices, voters settle. More Choice Voting advances reforms — like top-five primaries with ranked choice general elections — that expand the field, increase competition, and force candidates to earn broader support.
End Super PACs
In 2023, Maine voters passed Question 1 with an overwhelming majority, capping Super PAC donations at $5,000. FIVE is defending that law in court — and building the legal framework to take the fight to all 50 states. When unlimited money floods elections, voters lose.
Reform through every channel.
The right to vote is the right that secures all others. IVP uses a three-pronged approach — initiatives, litigation, and voter education — to challenge the institutional barriers that limit electoral competition and insulate major parties from accountability.
Pass Initiatives
We author ballot measures and model legislation that change how elections work — from California's Proposition 14 to San Diego's Measure K. When voters get to decide, reform wins.
Defend in Court
When reform passes, the establishment fights back. We defend every win in court — and we challenge systems that lock voters out. Our legal record includes victories at every level, including arguments before the Supreme Court.
Educate Voters
Change starts with awareness. Through IVN, 50-state voter data, and civic programming, we make sure voters understand how the system works — and what it would take to fix it.
Past initiatives & milestones
IVP's reform work extends well beyond the current initiatives. From local ballot measures to Supreme Court litigation, these are the efforts that built the foundation.
San Diego Measures K & D
2016 & 2018IVP authored Measure K (city, 2016) and Measure D (county, 2018) to end the incumbent protection scheme of winning elections outright in low-turnout primaries. Both passed with over 60% of the vote.
Opening NJ's Primary
2014 – 2016IVP filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of New Jersey's closed primary system, arguing it violated voters' First Amendment right not to associate with a political party. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court.
Open Presidential Debates
2016 – PresentIVP filed amicus briefs in Level the Playing Field v. FEC, challenging the Commission on Presidential Debates' exclusionary 15% polling threshold — a rule that effectively locks out all voices beyond the two major parties.
CA Presidential Primary Reform
2019 – PresentCalifornia's semi-closed presidential primary disenfranchises nearly 6 million No Party Preference voters. IVP is suing the Secretary of State to open the presidential primary to all registered voters equally.
Make Secretary of State Nonpartisan
PetitionThe official who administers elections shouldn't be a partisan. This petition effort advocated for making the California Secretary of State a nonpartisan office — removing party incentives from election administration.
End Rigged Elections
PetitionA public awareness and petition effort calling attention to the structural rules — gerrymandering, closed primaries, political spending loopholes — that rig elections in favor of the two-party establishment.
Stay in the loop on election reform.
Sign a petition. Subscribe to reform updates. Support the legal defense fund. Every action moves us closer to elections that serve voters — not parties.