On Election Day, just 35 of the 435 congressional seats up for election will have a competitive race, with less than half the voting population likely to vote in the 2014 midterm elections.
The cornerstone of our democracy -- elections -- are becoming so utterly predictable that the House of Representatives does not represent the majority of Americans, who are increasingly choosing not to register with either major party.
In fact, 42 percent of likely U.S. voters now self-identify as independent voters, with party registration in key battleground states suffering.
Why are more and more voters becoming independent voters?
"Because I am a citizen of the United States of America, and that trumps being a Democrat or a Republican." - Amy Daniels
"Because I vote for issues and not political parties." - Ivette Ferrer
"Because I have this radical notion that I should voice my own beliefs rather than let my personal opinions be constrained by a party platform." - Dodge Dakota
"Because not one single person in the history of ever has had the exact thoughts and beliefs I do, many similar, but not exact. So how would one party or the other, which is a big group of people with an agenda, have all the views I ever will have." - Josh Dennert
"Because there are usually more than 2 sides of a problem. Isn't it sad that GOP and Democrats won't think outside their parties." - Roger Horvath
"Because I don't like kool-aid." - Elise Hokman
"Because I vote for individuals instead of by party. I've never voted down straight party lines and I have voted for both Dems and Repubs in several different elections. Limiting ourselves to two parties is just expanding the divisiveness and partisanship that we currently have which does not get anything done for the good of the American people." - Crystal Felice
"Because I am an informed voter ... I want to make an informed choice and vote for the right person for the job ..... not the party." - Judy Green
"Options baby, options." - Matt Gross
"I like to make my own decisions, not be told how I should think!" - William E. Hines
"I am pro gun and pro choice." - Rachael Dee
"I believe that each party has good and bad ideals and look for politicians who can work for solutions with any party." - Lee Thomas
"Because I want to vote for people who are concerned about Our Country, and not about getting re-rlected as their first priority!" - Phil Bush
"I have found no home in the Democratic or Republican Party." - Ronald Duane Grace Jr.
"Because I don't like the politics of either party." - Cheryl Comento
"I'm independent minded about everything else. Why not this?" - Thomas Painter
"Because I am finding I have less in common with either party." - Barbara Wilson Stevens
"Tired of the blame game!" - Jordan Briley
"Because it's my right..." - Bob Lambert
"I have always voted person, not a party." - Carole Janish Wilson
A new nonpartisan group launched this week in Indiana with a single goal in mind: Take on Indiana’s entrenched two-party system by encouraging more candidates to give voters a third option free of a party label -- and calling Hoosiers to support these candidates. ...
The White House touted a big announcement Tuesday, only for it to be reported early that President Donald Trump plans to re-locate U.S. Space Command headquarters from Colorado to Alabama – which is not as big of deal as the reason for the decision....
On a hot August morning, state and local leaders gathered in Fresno to cut the ribbon on California’s newest community reentry facility. The site, run in partnership with TURN Behavioral Health Services, is designed to help people finishing prison sentences adjust to life on the outside. For Jorge Moreno of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), it’s about giving people a chance to breathe. “(It’s) like a phase down from the institutions,” he said. “(They) can decompress from the pressures and politics of prison and start acclimating back into the community.”...
Jane Susskind
