How It Really Works
How It Really Works: The California Billionaire Wealth Tax
California’s proposed billionaire wealth tax has become one of the most consequential policy debates in the nation.
How It Really Works
How It Really Works breaks down complex policy issues to help voters understand what’s really at stake. Each series combines in-depth articles, expert interviews, and short-form videos to cut through the partisan spin.
Election Reform
How It Really Works: Does Your Vote Even Matter?
Imagine showing up to vote in November, proud that you are doing your civic duty, only to learn that the real contest happened six months ago without you. The winner was decided in a low-turnout primary while you were busy living your life. This is not a conspiracy. It is how the system was built.
How It Really Works
How It Really Works: The Unfair Fight Between Legal Cannabis and Unregulated 'Gas‑Station' Hemp
When President Richard Nixon told the nation on June 17, 1971, that drug abuse was “public enemy number one,” he formally launched the War on Drugs and cemented cannabis in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.
Public Safety
Health Care Behind Bars - How It Really Works
The health care crisis behind bars affects two distinct but deeply connected groups: incarcerated individuals and correctional officers. While incarcerated people are constitutionally entitled to care, access remains inconsistent, and most enter custody with significant medical and mental health nee
Campaigns
Running for President as an Independent: How it Really Works
Have you ever wondered why, in the greatest democracy in the world, almost no one runs for President of the United States as an independent? The answer is that running as an independent is extremely difficult, if not impossible. That is why very few people have attempted it, and none have won in mod
Campaigns
LISTEN: Running for President as an Independent -- How it Really Works
Think about the leaders with bold visions you’ve wanted to vote for, the ones with the best ideas who have the potential to transform American politics. Most never stand a chance, regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum.
Cannabis
The Great Hemp Hoax: White Paper Reveals How Synthetic Cannabis Masquerades as Legal Hemp
California consumers who believe they are purchasing legal, natural hemp products may be getting more than they bargained for. A shocking new study reveals that much of what’s sold as “hemp” today is, in reality, a mix of synthetic intoxicants and illicit THC—compounds that could pose significant health
Opinion
Just A Reminder, The Presidential Nomination Process Has Never Been About Democracy
Vice President Kamala Harris is slated to make her speech at the DNC Thursday, in which she will formally accept the Democratic Party’s nomination for President of the United States. It is a historic moment that has not come without scrutiny.
Election Reform
10 Ways Both Parties Are Destroying Democracy
As the political landscape in the United States gears up for the 2024 presidential election, the media's focus is often on the perceived threats to democracy posed by individual candidates or movements, like the rhetoric around the MAGA crowd and former President Donald Trump, who is treated as the
Election Reform
The Conversation on Election Integrity Neither Party Wants You to Hear
Election integrity became a hot button issue during and in the wake of the 2020 presidential election. It is a phrase voters have heard a lot since November 3, as Donald Trump and many of his supporters claim widespread fraud took place that denied him re-election.
Election Reform
Everything You Need to Know About the Commission on Presidential Debates
The first presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump is scheduled for Tuesday, September 29, at 9 pm (Eastern). Plenty of commentators, though, have questioned whether either candidate should debate the other from a campaign strategy standpoint. Others have wondered if a substantive debate on the nation’s most
Election Reform
10 Facts You Need to Know About CA's Confusing and Unconstitutional Presidential Primary
On July 23, 2019, the Independent Voter Project (IVP)-- one of 7 plaintiffs -- filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Alex Padilla (Boydsten v. Padilla) for failing to provide an open presidential primary as required by the state constitution. Over the last several years, IVP has warned the