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# Beyond The Headlines: GOP to Shut Out Independents; IVN Passes GOP and DNC; War on Voters
- URL: https://ivn.us/beyond-the-headlines/
- Published: 2016-06-01T22:21:43.000Z
- Updated: 2026-06-22T19:53:39.000Z
- Author: Shawn Griffiths
- Tags: News

What does it mean when we say [“rigged elections”](https://www.facebook.com/IVN/videos/10152687398387465/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-)?

For starters, the [Republican Party wants to shut independents out of primaries altogether](http://ivn.us/2016/05/25/gop-party-leaders-consider-shutting-out-independents-in-more-primaries/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-) while Democratically controlled states like [California](http://ivn.us/2016/05/16/independent-voters-disenfranchised-by-california-primary-rules/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-) and [New York](http://ivn.us/2016/04/18/whos-tinkering-voters-party-affiliations-new-york/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-) have [made it more difficult for independent voters](http://ivn.us/2016/05/11/secretary-state-office-fails-voters/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-) to participate.

And the two major parties have, literally, a [bipartisan partnership](https://independentdebate.com/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-) that [actively prevents](http://ivn.us/2016/03/04/the-two-party-debate-has-to-go-heres-why/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-) a [third candidate](http://ivn.us/2016/05/30/governor-johnson-must-included-presidential-debates/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-) from participating in the general election presidential debates.

This is in addition to the huge increase in [fundraising limits the two parties gave themselves last year](http://ivn.us/2014/12/15/lawmakers-fund-pockets-government/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-) in anticipation of the presidential election.

And there are a slew of [more “rigging” techniques](http://ivn.us/2013/11/26/why-political-parties-control-elections-and-how-to-end-partisanship/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-) like [gerrymandering](http://ivn.us/2013/10/25/just-35-of-435-elections-competitive-after-201-years-of-gerrymandering/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-) I’m not even going to touch here.

So why don’t politicos talk more about how our [election system actually works](https://www.facebook.com/IVN/videos/10152687398387465/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-)?

In the two-sided national narrative -- where electoral competition is considered within the context of, “does this help the Republicans or the Democrats?” -- we [rarely discuss a more fundamental question](http://ivn.us/2015/07/07/breaking-writ-to-scotus-says-closed-primaries-are-unconstitutional/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-): How does our election system help or hurt the individual voter?

Last week, John Oliver became one of the first national commentators to [highlight the inherent conflict](http://ivn.us/2016/05/25/destined-to-relive-this-primary-nightmare-if-we-dont-fix-it-now-john-oliver-warns/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-) between the rights of political parties and the rights of individual voters in our partisan-based system.

Fact is, from [closed primaries](https://www.facebook.com/IVN/videos/10152687398387465/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-), to the [debate rules](http://ivn.us/2016/04/13/debates-commission-monopoly-reduces-competition/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-), to [gerrymandering](http://ivn.us/2016/03/14/half-a-million-people-sign-up-to-end-partisan-gerrymandering-in-illinois/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-) and [campaign finance rules](http://ivn.us/2014/12/15/lawmakers-fund-pockets-government/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-) \-- both political parties [are winning their bipartisan war on voters](http://ivn.us/2013/11/26/why-political-parties-control-elections-and-how-to-end-partisanship/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-).

So, “Sanders telling the truth about a rigged primary is … well, [it’s telling the truth.](http://ivn.us/2016/05/18/sanders-telling-truth-rigged-election-system/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-)”

And it’s also true when [Donald Trump says it](http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/04/11/trump%5Fthe%5Ftwo-party%5Fpolitical%5Fsystem%5Fis%5Frigged%5Fa%5Fcrooked%5Fdeal%5Fand%5Fi%5Fsee%5Fit%5Fwith%5Fbernie%5Ftoo.html?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-).

## **Will Governor Gary Johnson Become a Viable Third Party Option?**

If you haven’t heard of Gary Johnson, [you might want to](http://ivn.us/2016/05/19/gary-johnson-just-became-a-serious-presidential-contender/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-). He’s a the former Republican governor of New Mexico, where he was widely popular, but his [anti-war and civil libertarian](http://ivn.us/2016/03/28/sanders-doesnt-get-nomination-gary-johnson-may-catch-bern/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-) positions failed to gain much traction in the Republican presidential primary 8 years ago.

So he left for the Libertarian Party, where his third party status has kept him out of the news cycle … until recently. And with an electorate yearning for another alternative, and the Libertarian securing ballot access in all 50 states, why shouldn’t [the former governor be included in the debates](http://ivn.us/2016/05/30/governor-johnson-must-included-presidential-debates/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-)?

## **It Is Not All Bad News for Sanders…**

A new survey from the Public Policy Institute of California suggests that the race between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton in California [is now a toss-up](http://ivn.us/2016/05/25/close-race-clinton-sanders-california/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-).

That isn’t the only good news for Sanders this week, according to IVN writer David Yee.

Yee [writes](http://ivn.us/2016/05/25/sanders-influence-potus-race-secured-gaining-majority-platform-committee/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-) that 11 of the 15 members of the DNC’s platform committee may be friendly to Sanders’ policy positions, meaning even if Sanders doesn’t win the Democratic nomination, he will have a major influence on the platform that Hillary Clinton will have to run on.

## **Trump Clinches GOP Nomination; California Voters Confused**

IVN San Diego News Editor Jeff Powers [reports](http://ivn.us/2016/05/26/trump-clinches-gop-eve-san-diego-rally/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-) that Donald Trump clinched the GOP nomination last Thursday, reaching the necessary 1,237 delegates needed to win on a first-round vote at the Republican National Convention. The news broke on the eve of a rally Trump had in San Diego, California.

According to California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, a large surge of voters either registered to vote or changed their registration information in the last few weeks -- nearly [200,000 on May 23rd alone](http://ivn.us/2016/05/24/ca-sec-state-nearly-200000-voters-register-online-final-day/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-), the final day to register for the primary. Many of these voters may now be confused about their options; especially, if they registered Republican.

In fact, some voting rights attorneys [have already filed a lawsuit in California](https://ivn.us/2016/05/23/sanders-supporters-file-suit/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-), claiming that the state has not done enough to educate voters about the confusing process. To help educate voters, IVN explains how the California [presidential primary works](http://ivn.us/2016/05/16/independent-voters-disenfranchised-by-california-primary-rules/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-) and [how voters can participate](http://ivn.us/2016/05/16/independent-voters-disenfranchised-by-california-primary-rules/?utm%5Fsource=Newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=ada69d0253-IVN%5FNewsletter%5F5%5F31%5F2016&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fterm=0%5F24d080cf45-ada69d0253-).