Missouri voters showed up and shut down the legislature's attempt to gut citizen initiatives - and then, hours before polls closed, the Secretary of State went in front of a camera and declared their 300,000-signature people's veto unconstitutional anyway.

Cara McCormick, Ethan Handelman, and Shawn Griffiths break down what actually happened in Missouri: the legislature's repeat attempts to raise thresholds and choke off petition drives, the mid-cycle gerrymander that made Missouri the third state to redraw its maps in 2025, and the pile-on that followed — a third of signatures thrown out, an ICE referral aimed at petition circulators, a Black Friday mass text campaign, and a map that never got suspended the way the law says it should. From there it's the DNC's August 15 vote to bar ranked choice voting from the delegate process, a Maine primary where 72% of voters picked a nominee the party swapped out anyway, and the case for a mandatory retirement age that applies to everyone on the taxpayer's dime (inspired by Mitch McConnell’s 50 day Senate absence). 

The Independent Voter Podcast now has its own YouTube channel! If you enjoy these conversations, subscribe to our dedicated channel for full episodes, interviews, and future content: https://youtube.com/@IndependentVoterPodcast

Listen to more episodes and read in-depth coverage at:

https://ivn.us

https://independentvoterproject.org

Follow and subscribe on audio platforms:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1VnqtqjZh9EbmDtVxvHF3R

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/independent-voter-podcast/id1680559155

Chapters:

00:00:00 – Missouri Voters Reject the Legislature's Power Grab

00:05:06 – People Not Politicians vs. Secretary Hoskins

00:09:07 – The DNC's War on Ranked Choice Voting

00:14:12 – How Parties Override Their Own Primaries

00:17:36 – Mitch McConnell, Age Limits & Term Limits

00:21:17 – Trump's Poll Numbers & Truth Social Pay-to-Play

00:25:14 – Two-Thirds of Americans Don't Trust Elections

00:28:03 – Elon Musk's $120M Super PAC Midterm Bet

00:30:32 – Maine's Question 1: Capping Super PAC Contributions

00:35:16 – Money Equals Speech? The Supreme Court's Call

Missouri voters showed up and shut down the legislature's attempt to gut citizen initiatives - and then, hours before polls closed, the Secretary of State went in front of a camera and declared their 300,000-signature people's veto unconstitutional anyway.
Cara McCormick, Ethan Handelman, and Shawn Griffiths break down what actually happened in Missouri: the legislature's repeat attempts to raise thresholds and choke off petition drives, the mid-cycle gerrymander that made Missouri the third state to redraw its maps in 2025, and the pile-on that followed &mdash; a third of signatures thrown out, an ICE referral aimed at petition circulators, a Black Friday mass text campaign, and a map that never got suspended the way the law says it should. From there it's the DNC's August 15 vote to bar ranked choice voting from the delegate process, a Maine primary where 72% of voters picked a nominee the party swapped out anyway, and the case for a mandatory retirement age that applies to everyone on the taxpayer's dime (inspired by Mitch McConnell&rsquo;s 50 day Senate absence).&nbsp;
The Independent Voter Podcast now has its own YouTube channel! If you enjoy these conversations, subscribe to our dedicated channel for full episodes, interviews, and future content: <a href="https://youtube.com/@IndependentVoterPodcast">https://youtube.com/@IndependentVoterPodcast</a>
Listen to more episodes and read in-depth coverage at:
<a href="https://ivn.us">https://ivn.us</a>
<a href="https://independentvoterproject.org">https://independentvoterproject.org</a>
Follow and subscribe on audio platforms:
<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/1VnqtqjZh9EbmDtVxvHF3R">https://open.spotify.com/show/1VnqtqjZh9EbmDtVxvHF3R</a>
<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/independent-voter-podcast/id1680559155">https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/independent-voter-podcast/id1680559155</a>
Chapters:
00:00:00 &ndash; Missouri Voters Reject the Legislature's Power Grab
00:05:06 &ndash; People Not Politicians vs. Secretary Hoskins
00:09:07 &ndash; The DNC's War on Ranked Choice Voting
00:14:12 &ndash; How Parties Override Their Own Primaries
00:17:36 &ndash; Mitch McConnell, Age Limits &amp; Term Limits
00:21:17 &ndash; Trump's Poll Numbers &amp; Truth Social Pay-to-Play
00:25:14 &ndash; Two-Thirds of Americans Don't Trust Elections
00:28:03 &ndash; Elon Musk's $120M Super PAC Midterm Bet
00:30:32 &ndash; Maine's Question 1: Capping Super PAC Contributions
00:35:16 &ndash; Money Equals Speech? The Supreme Court's Call

Tired of being told what to think by partisan gatekeepers? So are we.
The Independent Voter Podcast brings you conversations that challenge the two-party echo chamber and reject the false binaries dominating today’s political narratives. We focus on two things:
 (1) Election reforms that increase real competition and voter choice, and
 (2) Policy issues that defy the black-and-white frameworks set by national party agendas.

We’ve been called everything: liberals, undercover Republicans, progressives, socialists, libertarians—even anarchists. And depending on the article, they’re all true.
We are open to any voice that follows our simple etiquette. If you believe political independence is a mindset, not a middle ground, you’re in the right place.
This the Independent Voter Podcast..

Tired of being told what to think by partisan gatekeepers? So are we. The Independent Voter Podcast brings you conversations that challenge the two-party echo chamber and reject the false binaries dominating today&rsquo;s political narratives. We focus on two things: &nbsp;(1)&nbsp;Election reforms that increase real competition and voter choice, and &nbsp;(2)&nbsp;Policy issues that defy the black-and-white frameworks set by national party agendas.
We&rsquo;ve been called everything: liberals, undercover Republicans, progressives, socialists, libertarians&mdash;even anarchists. And depending on the article, they&rsquo;re all true. We are open to any voice that follows our simple etiquette. If you believe political independence is a mindset, not a middle ground, you&rsquo;re in the right place. This the Independent Voter Podcast..

Independent Voter Podcast

Tired of being told what to think by partisan gatekeepers? So are we.
The Independent Voter Podcast brings you conversations that challenge the two-party echo chamber and reject the false binaries dominating today’s political narratives. We focus on two things:
 (1) Election reforms that increase real competition and voter choice, and
 (2) Policy issues that defy the black-and-white frameworks set by national party agendas.

We’ve been called everything: liberals, undercover Republicans, progressives, socialists, libertarians—even anarchists. And depending on the article, they’re all true.
We are open to any voice that follows our simple etiquette. If you believe political independence is a mindset, not a middle ground, you’re in the right place.
This the Independent Voter Podcast.

Tired of being told what to think by partisan gatekeepers? So are we. The Independent Voter Podcast brings you conversations that challenge the two-party echo chamber and reject the false binaries dominating today&rsquo;s political narratives. We focus on two things: &nbsp;(1)&nbsp;Election reforms that increase real competition and voter choice, and &nbsp;(2)&nbsp;Policy issues that defy the black-and-white frameworks set by national party agendas.
We&rsquo;ve been called everything: liberals, undercover Republicans, progressives, socialists, libertarians&mdash;even anarchists. And depending on the article, they&rsquo;re all true. We are open to any voice that follows our simple etiquette. If you believe political independence is a mindset, not a middle ground, you&rsquo;re in the right place. This the Independent Voter Podcast.