The Independent Voter Network (IVN) is a new kind of news network, an online news platform for communication between independent-minded voters, public officials, civic leaders, and journalists. The Network is dedicated to providing political analysis and rational commentary in an effort to elevate the level of our public discourse.

IVN is committed to the belief that democracy functions best when the most people participate. Today’s political climate discourages such a participatory democracy. This is evidenced by the fact that current congressional approval rating is just over 10%. Trust in the news media is under 40%. And, most importantly, voters are fleeing the parties in record numbers, with 40% of Americans self-identified as independent voters.

These voters tend to vote less frequently and have less of a voice than their partisan counterparts because both our electoral process and our media outlets have divided the population along partisan lines; those who don’t fit within the lines get left out.

The purpose of IVN.us is to provide unfiltered political news and policy analysis across the political spectrum. Unlike traditional media outlets and elsewhere in the “blogosphere” where the diversity of viewpoints is often reduced into partisan circles, IVN actively encourages contributors and readers of differing political tendencies to engage in a constructive dialogue.

IVN’s History

IVN began as caivn.org, and during the 2008 and 2010 election cycles averaged 150,000 unique visitors each day. The new IVN.us network was BETA tested at the end of 2011, and was officially launched in January 2012. In addition to its news role, IVN.us will integrate a number of interactive online community features.

IVN’s Publisher

IVN is a project of the Foundation for Independent Voter Education (FIVE) a sister organization of the Independent Voter Project (IVP). FIVE is dedicated to restoring the importance of open dialogue, engagement, and constructive compromise in our political system, unfiltered by the partisanship that drives the larger public dialogue. FIVE defines “independent” as people, positions, or information not dictated by a partisan point of view.

IVN’s Mission

The mission of IVN.us is to raise the level of civil discourse to a place where solutions are more persuasive than talking points, and participation is not conditioned on your party affiliation.

What to contribute to IVN? Looking for an internship opportunity? APPLY TODAY!