Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

California’s presidential primary challenged in court as unfair to independents

Alex Padilla

A lawsuit alleges California Secretary of State Alex Padilla is ignoring a state constitutional requirement that presidential primaries be open to all voters regardless of party.

Amanda Edwards/Getty Images

California's presidential primary system violates the constitutional rights of those who don't belong to either major party, an advocacy group for independent voters alleges in a lawsuit filed Tuesday.

The Independent Voter Project — which steered the nation's most populous state to adopt a nonpartisan "top two" primary system for state and congressional elections a decade ago — is now hoping the California courts will to strike down rules permitting the Democratic and Republican parties to control next year's presidential nomination contests.

Federal courts have said the parties have broad latitude to set the rules for their own contests. But the lawsuit filed in San Bernardino Superior Court alleges that California's top election official, Secretary of State Alex Padilla, is ignoring a state constitutional requirement that presidential primaries be truly "open" to voters regardless of party.


He has done so, the suit maintains, by permitting the two parties to set rules for their primaries that require partisan independents to jump through special administrative hoops. Democrats, for example, have allowed independents to vote in person on primary day but have decreed that those wishing to vote by mail must request ballots well in advance. California's Republicans have gone further and generally require voters to register as party members before voting in the GOP contest.

It is unclear how far the litigation will proceed before March 3, Super Tuesday, when Californians will vote to allocate more delegates for next summer's Democratic convention in Milwaukee than any other primary. A candidate who does particularly well in the state could receive a significant catapult toward the nomination.

Kamala Harris, a senator from California since 2017 and before that its attorney general, has been leading in statewide presidential polling and is currently in the top four in almost all national surveys.

Independents and absentee voters, who are disproportionately young and people of color, have been making up an ever larger share of the California electorate, according to Chad Peace, the Independent Voter Project's legal counsel. Peace says his group has calculated the current Democratic system could effectively disenfranchise as many as 1 million of the state's estimated 5 million independent voters.

The lawsuit also alleges that, under the state constitution, its government is illegally spending taxpayer dollars on the primaries because they "benefit wholly private political parties."

Read More

USCIS "Anti-American" Policy: Free Speech, Green Cards & Citizenship at Risk
Wikimedia Commons

USCIS "Anti-American" Policy: Free Speech, Green Cards & Citizenship at Risk

The Trump administration has introduced a new immigration policy that allows U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to deny visas, green cards, and even citizenship applications if an applicant is flagged for “anti-American” activity online. The move is already drawing concern from immigration attorneys and digital security experts, who warn that the vague wording opens the door to arbitrary decisions and potential violations of free speech.

Ayla Adomat, managing attorney of Adomat Immigration and specialized in green card applications, said in an interview with Latino News Network, the government has not provided a clear standard for what qualifies as “anti-American.” “So it does seem that prior social media posts can put a visa or green card application at risk. This has been confirmed by USCIS,” she explained. “What we are seeing, though is…we’re still kind of figuring out what counts as social media here.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Just the Facts: Canada-U.S. Tariff Update- What’s Changed Since March 2025?

US Canada tariff battle

AI generated

Just the Facts: Canada-U.S. Tariff Update- What’s Changed Since March 2025?

The Fulcrum strives to approach news stories with an open mind and skepticism, striving to present our readers with a broad spectrum of viewpoints through diligent research and critical thinking. As best we can, remove personal bias from our reporting and seek a variety of perspectives in both our news gathering and selection of opinion pieces. However, before our readers can analyze varying viewpoints, they must have the facts.

What is a tariff?

A tariff is a tax imposed by a government on imports or exports of goods, often used to protect domestic industries or respond to trade disputes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mamdani & The Socialism Canard
File:Zohran Mamdani at the Resist Fascism Rally in Bryant Park on ...

Mamdani & The Socialism Canard

Every time Democrats propose having the government provide new assistance to those in need or a new regulation of business, the Republicans cry out, “This is Socialism.”

But after Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City, his fellow Democrats beat them to it. They were aroused primarily, I think, because they feared what a negative reaction to Mamdani from big business would do to Democrats' chances nationally in the upcoming mid-term elections. They should be ashamed of themselves for having become so beholden to big business and for joining Republicans in criticizing by labeling a suggestion for dealing with current societal problems that is consistent with our form of economy.

Keep ReadingShow less
Connecticut: Democracy, Innovation, and Economic Resilience

The 50: Connecticut

Credit: Hugo Balta

Connecticut: Democracy, Innovation, and Economic Resilience

The 50 is a four-year multimedia project in which the Fulcrum visits different communities across all 50 states to learn what motivated them to vote in the 2024 presidential election and see how the Donald Trump administration is meeting those concerns and hopes.

Hartford, Connecticut, stands as a living testament to American democracy, ingenuity, and resilience. As the state’s capital, it’s home to cultural landmarks like the Mark Twain House & Museum, where Twain penned The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, embodying the spirit of self-governance and creative daring that defines the region.

Keep ReadingShow less