In the wake of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, leaders on both sides of the aisle publicly called for unity and the tempering of extreme and hyperbolic language. But those calls have been better in theory, than practice.

The Idaho secretary of state announced this week that Idahoans for Open Primaries turned in enough signatures for its ballot initiative to end the state's closed primary system.

The Richmond City Council unanimously approved a ballot measure for November in a 5-0 vote that authorizes the use of ranked choice voting (RCV) for mayor and city council elections. 

The last couple of weeks have been eventful for independent candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr, who may not have been invited to the CNN presidential debate but continues to rack up ballot access victories across the US.

In a system that was designed to perpetuate a zero-sum contest between two sides, the stakes get higher each election cycle to convince people they have to cast their ballot a certain way “or else.”

It goes without saying that the District of Columbia is a one-party town. Out of the 13 seats that compose the DC City Council, 11 are held by Democrats, and the other two are held by officials registered as independent.

"It was a sad day for the country." Many voters have shared this exact sentiment in the days following the June 27 CNN presidential debate.

A DC campaign has collected more than 40,000 signatures to put an initiative on the city’s ballot that would open primary elections to independent voters and implement ranked choice voting in all District elections.

A Harvard CAPS / Harris poll in May found that 71% of Americans want an independent or third-party candidate on the presidential debate stage. Yet, the rules for CNN's June 27 debate were set up to never allow more than two.

Last week, Virginia’s GOP held primaries for the upcoming House elections in November. As of today, the results for the state’s 5th congressional district are still too close to call.