Most states and all presidential elections are conducted under a partisan election process. This means that candidates for political office must run for election first as the representative of their party, before they appeal to the people as a whole. Because of gerrymandering and campaign finance laws that favor partisan candidates, open primaries, that have been enacted in a few states like California, Washington, and Louisiana, allow non-partisan voters to make their voice heard in the all-important primary elections, where most races are decided.
In previous years, registered party members received a ballot that listed only the names of candidates from their party. Independent voters received a ‘non-partisan’ ballot, which was limited to the initiatives and non-partisan candidates.
At 11am PST, the Independent Voter Project and the Independent Voter Network went live from San Diego to announce the details of the unprecedented Independent Voter Survey.
Independent voters in certain districts across California will be sent ID codes that allow them to vote in an Independent Preference Survey prior to the June 5 primary election.
Proposition 14 and Open Primaries represent the spirit of democracy and our republican form of government, which makes the partisan motivations of those in opposition to the change in rules, suspect.
In 2012, independents will outnumber one of the major parties in 12 of the 53 Congressional districts, 10 of the 40 Senatorial districts, and 22 of the 80 Assembly districts.
A Ron Paul delegate shares her experiences from the Colorado GOP state convention last month, and reports on the Republican Party’s internal divisions.
On the issue of voter suppression, new identification requirements pale in comparison with the routine disenfranchisement of political Independents.
Imagine a system of voting entirely different than the one Americans are used to.
With California elections around the corner, here are IVN’s top 5 Independent Congressional races to watch.
Sponsored by IVN and hosted by the University of San Diego School of Law Independent Voter Club, yesterday marked our first Independent Forum, where independents from across California gathered to explain the importance of the new open primary system in California.
