A ballot initiative in Missouri is seeking to change the way statewide elections are run.

Currently, in the Show-Me State, there are party primaries in August, and voters choose between the winners of the primaries in November.

The Better Elections initiative seeks to move to what's known as ranked-choice voting.

Rosetta Okohson, a Democratic consultant and co-leader of the political action committee Better Elections, said under the model they are proposing, everybody votes for their top choice from any party in one primary election, then the top four would move onto the general election, where voters can rank them in order of preference.

"Things have been very polarized in our most recent elections, and voter participation has been very low," Okohson observed. "We know more people show up in November, and are more engaged in November, and we want voters to feel good about having different options."

She added while some voters are strong partisans, others may want to vote for a Democrat in one race and a Republican in another.

Under the proposal, party labels still would be included next to people's names on the ballot, so voters still would know which candidates represent which party. Opponents of ranked-choice voting say the current primary system works, and there is no reason to change it.

John Hancock, a Republican consultant and co-leader of the campaign, said some voters do not like to publicly disclose their political leanings, but they have to in order to vote in the primary.

He pointed out since strong partisans tend to be more engaged primary voters, Republican candidates tend to run as far to the right as they can, and Democratic candidates tend to run to the left. He hopes the new system can address those issues.

"Under this system, if I'm one of four Republicans running, I'm not going to tear down my fellow candidates, because if a voter is going to vote for them as their first choice, I want to be their second choice," Hancock emphasized. "It will make campaigns more broad-based. I think it will make campaigns less divisive. And I think it'll produce better elected officials."

The constitutional amendment has been approved by the Secretary of State's office for signature gathering. To appear on the ballot, the campaign will need at least 160,000 signatures by May, the number determined by turnout from the last gubernatorial election.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.

The Maryland Democratic Party is asking for the state to be considered for an early primary for the 2024 presidential election. The party submitted a letter of intent as a potential early primary state to the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

Yvette Lewis, chair of the Maryland Democratic Party, said as a state with suburban, urban and rural communities, she sees it as "America in miniature." It is also now the most diverse state on the East Coast, according to U.S. Census data. Lewis added Maryland's compactness gives it a leg up in being more accessible for candidates.

"Traveling to a state that has 99 counties -- for example, like Iowa -- does get to be costly, it's time-consuming, and it requires quite a bit of resources," Lewis pointed out. "That won't be the case here in Maryland, because you can get to each one of our jurisdictions relatively easy."

The DNC approved a plan in April for selecting up to five states to vote in the early primary months. Others vying for a spot include Colorado, Connecticut and Delaware. A decision is expected to come later this summer.

Lewis noted historically, early primary states have dominated the conversation during the election cycle, along with having some influence over other state primaries held later in the year. She thinks it is important for states like Maryland to have a stronger voice in the electoral process.

"It would shine a spotlight on not only where our needs are, but it would shine a spotlight on the good things that are happening here," Lewis remarked. "It also introduces people to a state they may not know very much about, but they may come to love as much as we do, because they can look at our state, and they can see themselves."

States currently holding early caucuses and primaries include Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Maryland's 2022 2022 primary election is July 19, with early voting starting July 7. Marylanders must be registered to vote by June 28.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Women ages 50 and over cast a big chunk of ballots, with a big impact in American elections, and a new poll looked at what they want.

Findings in the AARP survey of likely voters done in February and March underscored why they are important, as well as what motivates them.

Stacy Larsen, communications director for AARP Oregon, said they make up more than a quarter of all registered voters, and are 15% more likely to vote than the population at large.

"This is a voting bloc that turns out in big numbers," Larsen emphasized. "The group of women 50+ are reliable and consistent voters. They cast nearly a third of all ballots in both the 2020 and 2018 elections."

When the survey was taken, nearly two-thirds of respondents said they would not make up their minds on who they were voting for until the weeks or days before Election Day.

The biggest concern for women ages 50 and older right now is the economy. Larsen pointed out nearly half ranked the rising cost of living as the most important issue facing the country.

"And close to three-quarters of them, 72% of this group, are concerned about their income keeping up with those rising costs," Larsen reported. "The majority say that the economy is not working well for them personally and that's a big jump from before the pandemic."

The second-biggest issue for the bloc of voters is the lack of unity in the country. About two-thirds say they want their elected official to work across the aisle to get things done, even if it involves compromise. Larsen stressed politicians should take note.

"Because women 50+ are likely to turn out in high numbers when other voters may be disengaging, it's critical for our elected officials and candidates for office to pay attention to this group," Larsen contended.

Examples of proposed policies and candidates tied to false claims of election fraud have spread to Minnesota, and a new national report found the movement is not slowing down ahead of this fall's vote.

A trio of voter-rights groups issued findings into how state legislatures are trying to subvert elections, including more leeway to reject results, requiring partisan or outside audits, and shifting power away from election administrators. Some ideas have been floated by Minnesota Republicans but are not likely to pass under the current balance of power.

Rachel Homer, counsel for the nonprofit group Protect Democracy, said simply proposing them poses a threat.

"This is about everyone in support of democracy," Homer asserted. "Both political parties really need to be standing against this movement toward autocracy."

Despite calls for unity, Republicans are seeing more candidates for statewide offices who either perpetuate the stolen-election narrative, or suggest current laws need restrictions they said would tighten election security.

The Minnesota GOP recently endorsed such a candidate running for Secretary of State, the office overseeing elections. The report said 175 such laws were introduced in the U.S. this year.

Homer argued false election-fraud claims, taking shape following Donald Trump's loss in the 2020 presidential vote, have ballooned to a five-alarm fire. She noted even if most bills do not pass, voters are still being exposed to theories soundly rejected by the courts.

"These bills are being proposed by a lot of legislators across a lot of states," Homer observed. "They clearly think there's an audience for it. "

The groups behind the report emphasized it is important to remember most administrators, staffs and volunteers are committed to free and fair elections.

Sylvia Albert, national voting and elections director for Common Cause, said outside the findings, potentially having some candidates espousing such views take office is concerning. If election results were to be rejected without a valid reason, she said it might be harder to seek recourse.

"So, there definitely is an ability to challenge in court, [but] the courts are leaning more and more toward stepping away and letting the political process run itself," Albert stressed. "What that does, is not protect the people who don't have power, which are normal Americans."

Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.