Over the last 100 years, the political system has developed so that parties, and not people, control the outcome of the elections. From gerrymandering to ballot access laws, independent-minded voters and candidates have been systematically shut out of the political process. This section focuses on electoral reforms that can help re-shape our elections into the representative democracy it was meant to be. This section will follow the developments and changes made to our national, state and local electoral process.
The real test for the effect of Open Primary is in November, where are a number of “same party” contests as well as two prominent independent vs. Democrat races.
Obama e-mailed supports this week, “This afternoon, I voted in my hometown of Chicago…to take advantage of early voting.”
There is some consensus that California’s death-row appeals process is draining state resources, but California voters will need to weigh Proposition 34′s financial benefits against emotional closure that families often seek regarding a lost loved one.
Legislative Analyst Office findings on Proposition 39 show increases in state revenues for funding California schools and green energy projects.
Record low absentee ballot requests and a failure to implement a 2009 law will likely leave thousands of military voters disenfranchised in 2012.
Americans For Responsible Leadership, headed by conservative Arizona Republican businessman Robert Graham, is the leading source of funds fighting Arizona’s Proposition 121, the groundbreaking nonpartisan primary reforms modeled after California and Washington State.
The Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) provided an independent analysis of Proposition 38, a California ballot initiative championed by civil rights attorney Molly Munger, that would raise income taxes to increase state funding for education.
