In New York City, it goes without saying that the most consequential election in nearly every race is in the Democratic Primary. However, if registered independent voters don't join a party soon, they will be completely denied a say.
11 Feb, 2025
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3 min read
DC Appeals Court Revives Democrats' Effort to Kill the Already Approved Initiative 83
Alex Koma of Loose Lips @WCP reports that a significant legal battle over Initiative 83 (I-83) has been reignited after the District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled on February 6, 2025, to remand the case to Superior Court ...
10 Feb, 2025
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2 min read
The Death of Checks and Balances and The Rise of the Imperial Presidency
In his first three weeks back in office, President Trump has already floated taking control of Gaza, authorized Elon Musk to overhaul the Treasury with college interns, and signed more executive orders than most presidents do in a year. While critics argue he's trampling constitutional limits on presidential power, is Trump really breaking new ground - or just building on a century of executive overreach?...
10 Feb, 2025
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1 min read
Where Is the Hope?
From 2013 to 2016, I authored over 40 articles published by the Independent Voter Network (IVN). I wrote to overcome the partisan divisiveness which had paralyzed our federal government. I wrote about organizations, candidates, individuals and efforts that emphasized non-partisan solutions to the issues we face in America. Hope and positivity were my mantra....
10 Feb, 2025
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3 min read
Open Primaries President: Voters Don't Trust Reformers Right Now; We Need to Earn That Trust
The nonprofit reform group Open Primaries hosted its first Primary Buzz Discussion of 2025 last week. But this conversation worked differently as Open Primaries President John Opdycke was the one being interviewed....
06 Feb, 2025
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2 min read
'It's The Economy, Stupid': Poll Spotlights Biggest Area of Common Ground among Voters
Over the last week, The Independent Center released the second and third installments to its 2025 State of the Union Poll, one of which compared and contrasted the views of independent voters and Republicans and the other compared independents and Democrats....
05 Feb, 2025
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3 min read
Advocates Push for Reform to Stop Partisan Manipulation of Ballot Measures
An Election Reformers Network (ERN) report covering a 13-year period has found that state lawmakers and elected officials are increasingly manipulating the ballot initiative process to block or impede citizen-led efforts. ...
04 Feb, 2025
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3 min read
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Virginia Senate Advances Bill to Expand Ranked Choice Voting in Local Elections
The Virginia Senate approved a bill Monday that would expand the authority of local governments to conduct elections using ranked choice voting (RCV). The bill (SB1009) grants cities, counties, and towns the ability to implement RCV for all elections....
04 Feb, 2025
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2 min read
What Is USAID and Can the President Abolish It?
The head offices of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) were closed Monday after staffers were told by email not to come to work. It is the latest move in the Trump administration's plan to shut down the agency....
03 Feb, 2025
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5 min read
Trump's Spending Freeze: Why Taming the Debt Is So Hard
Last week, the Trump Administration sparked confusion across government agencies with a memo freezing federal funding. The confusion deepened when they rescinded the memo 45 hours later....
03 Feb, 2025
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1 min read
Report Finds Ranked Choice Voting Is Working in Utah and Voters Like It
In late 2024, the Herbert Institute at Utah Valley University released two reports on Utah’s ranked choice voting (RCV) pilot program. In the reports, Professors Alan Parry and John Kidd and co-authors Michael Erickson and Addison Stott capture the high level of support for RCV among Utah voters, as well as the strong foundation that RCV has in mathematics. ...
30 Jan, 2025
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3 min read

Alex Koma of Loose Lips @WCP reports that a significant legal battle over Initiative 83 (I-83) has been reignited after the District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled on February 6, 2025, to remand the case to Superior Court ...
10 Feb, 2025
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2 min read
In his first three weeks back in office, President Trump has already floated taking control of Gaza, authorized Elon Musk to overhaul the Treasury with college interns, and signed more executive orders than most presidents do in a year. While critics argue he's trampling constitutional limits on presidential power, is Trump really breaking new ground - or just building on a century of executive overreach?...
10 Feb, 2025
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1 min read