Authored Initiatives
IVP doesn't just advocate for change. We draft the actual ballot language, build coalitions to qualify it, and take reform directly to voters. Two initiatives authored. Both passed.
We don't wait for legislatures to act. We write the law ourselves.
Most reform organizations lobby legislators or file lawsuits. IVP takes a different path. When we see a structural flaw in the democratic process, we author the fix as legislation and take it directly to voters through the ballot initiative process.
This approach means reform doesn't depend on the same partisan institutions that created the problem. It goes straight to the people — and when voters approve it, the result carries the force of constitutional law.
Both of IVP's authored initiatives passed. Both survived legal challenges. And both created frameworks that other cities and states are now building on.
Laws we wrote and passed
Proposition 14 — California Top Two Primary
IVP authored the ballot measure that replaced California's closed partisan primaries with a nonpartisan Top Two system — giving every voter access to every candidate on a single ballot.
Read the Full StoryNearly 40 million Californians now participate in a primary system that doesn't require party membership. Proposition 14 remains the most significant structural election reform in modern California history.
San Diego Measure K — Nonpartisan November Elections
IVP authored the ballot measure that eliminated San Diego's 50%+1 rule, which allowed candidates to win city elections in low-turnout June primaries without ever facing voters in November.
Read the Full StoryPassed with 58.6% of the vote in November 2016. San Diego city races now always go to a November general election, where turnout is highest and most representative.
Help fund the next initiative.
Every ballot measure IVP authors costs real money — from drafting the legal language to qualifying it for the ballot to defending it in court. Your support makes the next reform possible.