The Foundation for Independent Voter Education (FIVE) is the educational arm of the Independent Voter Project (IVP), a left-of-center advocacy group promoting nonpartisan primaries and other changes to the primary and general election process that weaken the influence of the major parties and their nominating processes founded as the California Independent Voter Project in 2006. Independent Voter Project is best known for authoring the California nonpartisan top-two primary system which was adopted by voters in a ballot measure in 2010, as well as a similar local referendum in San Diego that passed in 2016. The group has also been engaged in legal advocacy against other primary election systems, notably bringing a challenge to New Jersey’s primary system to the U.S. Supreme Court. FIVE was formed to complement the lobbying and advocacy work of the IVP and provide educational programming including documentary film production and media engagement. ^{1 2 3 4}

Background and History

The Independent Voter Project was founded in 2006 by Steve Peace, a former California state lawmaker and film producer, with the assistance of a $1 million gift from John Moores, the former owner of the San Diego Padres. Peace founded the group after noting an increased polarization of public policy debates. The group was initially active in California and was known as the California Independent Voter Project and focused on “ensuring that independent voters know their rights under California’s complex primary laws which allowed them to vote in most partisan primaries only upon requesting a ‘Party’ (e.g. Democrat or Republican) ballot.” ¹

The Independent Voter Project was instrumental in enacting California’s top-two primary system, which was approved by voters as Proposition 14 in 2010. The system allows the top two candidates in an all-party primary to advance to the general election, regardless of their party designation. ⁵ After significant political and legal wrangling, the proposal was on the 2010 ballot as Proposition 14, and passed by a 400,000-vote margin with 54 percent of the vote. ⁶ In San Diego, the Independent Voter Project pushed several measures in the 2016 election to end the “50%+1” rule that allowed candidates who received over 50 percent of the vote in primaries to bypass the general election and win the election outright. Such measures were adopted by city voters in 2016 and by San Diego County voters in 2018. ⁷

In 2011, following the Independent Voter Project’s success in pushing to implement the top-two primary system in California, the organization established the Foundation for Independent Voter Education as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization to conduct educational efforts outside of direct lobbying and advocacy and to solicit tax-deductible contributions. ⁴

Independent Voter Network

The Foundation for Independent Voter Education founded the Independent Voter Network as a news source. The network has a multi-site platform that allows “independent contributors from all sectors of industry and all walks of life to publish their own stories, which then reach a large, national and international audience.” ⁴

The news network mostly operates on Facebook and claims to enforce guidelines including “(1) No Partisan Attacks, (2) No Self-Promotion, (3) Substantiate Claims, (4) No Personal Attacks.” ⁸

Funding

Funders of the Foundation for Independent Voter Education include the Chamberlain Project Foundation, Change for Justice Foundation, Serve to Lead Foundation, Act for Alexandria, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and Donor Advised Charitable Giving. ⁹

1. “About IVP.” Independent Voter Project. Accessed December 14, 2024. https://independentvoterproject.org/about/about-ivp
2. “Independent Voter Project.” ProPublica. Accessed December 14, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/204842091
3. Isherwood, Darryl. “Group sues the state to open primary elections to all voters.” NJ.com. March 21, 2014. Accessed December 14, 2024.  https://www.nj.com/politics/2014/03/group_sues_the_state_to_open_primary_elections_to_all_voters.html
4. “Foundation for Independent Voter Education.” Independent Voter Project. Accessed December 14, 2024. https://independentvoterproject.org/five
5. “The Real History: California’s Top-Two Nonpartisan Primary Electoral Reform.” Independent Voter News. April 27, 2018. Accessed December 14, 2024. https://ivn.us/posts/the-real-history-californias-top-two-nonpartisan-primary-electoral-reform
6. “California Proposition 14, Top-Two Primaries Amendment (June 2010).” Ballotpedia. Accessed December 14, 2024. https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_14,_Top-Two_Primaries_Amendment_(June_2010)
7. “San Diego Measures.” Independent Voter Project. Accessed December 14, 2024. https://independentvoterproject.org/work/san-diego-measures
8. “Independent Voter Network (IVN News).” 7^th Annual Shorty Awards. Accessed December 14, 2024. https://shortyawards.com/7th/independent-voter-network
9. “Independent Voter Project.” ProPublica. Full Text Search. Query Conducted December 14, 2024.   https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/full_text_search?q=%22foundation+for+independent+Voter+education%22