She attended Saint Mary's University in Winona, Minnesota where she served as varsity tennis captain and volunteered for Habitat for Humanity.

In 2008, Tobin founded the Free & Equal Elections Foundation,[8] a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization, whose mission is to empower American voters through education.

Free & Equal hosts open gubernatorial, Presidential and senatorial debates, including the 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024 Presidential debates moderated by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Chris Hedges,[9] broadcast legend Larry King,[10] Thom Hartmann of Free Speech TV,[11] and Emmy Award winning actor Ed Asner.

[15] For the November 2006 election, she successfully defended 39,000 signatures for Rich Whitney, the Green Party candidate for Illinois governor.

In 2008, Tobin filed a lawsuit against John Hardy Limited, alleging harassment of jewelry designers in Bali and improper copyrighting of a Balinese folk motif.

[19] In March 2009, Tobin founded Free and Equal, Inc., a non-partisan, full-service ballot access consulting and petitioning firm that specializes in independent and third-party candidates.

The main objective of Tobin's Stop Top Two movement was to defeat the proposition through education, media outreach and panel discussions, including the "Problems with Arizona's Top Two Primary System – Proposition 121" panel presented by the Free & Equal Elections Foundation at the Goldwater Institute on October 9, 2012.