The Independent Voter Network (IVN)

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 Independent Voter Network is dedicated to providing political analysis and rational commentary in an effort to elevate the level of our public discourse.

IVN is a program of the Independent Voter Project (IVP).  IVP 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.  IVP defines “independent” as people, positions, or information not dictated by a partisan point of view.”

A Brief 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.

A Place to Speak for Yourself

IVN provides a news platform for voters and candidates who want to speak for themselves.  IVP’s goal is to create a nationwide news source where contributing writers are free to write from their heart, and not on behalf of the network itself.  All articles, commentaries and opinions are the sole work of the individual authors and are not directed or controlled by IVP.

IVN believes that traditional media, in large part, has encouraged the polarization of our political process by sensationalizing the headlines and reducing the dialogue to a “left v. right” mentality.  The Independent Voter Network was established to counter this trend by providing independent news.   “Independent News,” is defined as news that is not developed from a partisan point of view.  By providing a place for independent sources of news, we can begin to repair the broken political system and empower writers, contributors, commentators, candidates and voters who are willing to “speak for themselves.”

Author Etiquette

To achieve its objectives, IVN has established four clear rules, known as the “Writers Etiquette,” that all editors, contributors, and participants must respect:

  1. No personal attacks. Always address the argument, never the person making the argument.
  2. No self-promotion. This news platform is for discussing issues.  You may purchase an advertisement for promotional purposes.
  3. Sources must be substantiated.  Just because someone else said it does not mean it’s true.  The gossip stops here.
  4. No partisan-based attacks. If your sentence starts with “Democrats think…” or “All Republicans are…” your article will be rejected.