June 18, 2026

She Quit Her Party. Then She Couldn't Vote. | Lisa Rice

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Lisa D.T. Rice, the driving force behind DC's Initiative 83 to permit ranked choice voting and open primaries, joins the show to explain how a missing ballot turned her into one of the most relentless reformers in the country. She breaks down why closed primaries are really a voting-rights problem, how she took on two fights at once - open primaries and ranked choice voting - in the heart of a 95% one-party city, and how rooting reform in everyday issues like food deserts is what actually wins elections. Then comes the gut-punch: voters passed her initiative with 73%, and she still couldn't cast a ballot. Stick around for the protest she threw in response, the go-go song she commissioned to troll the city council, and the lawsuit threat she says she "wouldn't put past someone." 

This episode is sponsored by the Independent Voter Project and produced by Olas Media

Listen to more episodes and read in-depth coverage at: https://ivn.us  and https://independentvoterproject.org 

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