In this episode of Middleweight Politics, Dan and IVN Editor Shawn Griffiths discuss former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke's puzzling endorsement of Jill Stein, Democrat Mike Bennett's slightly more puzzling opposition to election reform in his state...

The Denver Post Editorial Board has issued an endorsement on Proposition 131 in Colorado, an initiative that calls for a nonpartisan top 4 open primary with ranked choice voting. They ask voters to vote "No," but not because they have doubts about the reform.

With Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen’s announcement on Sept. 24 that he doesn't have enough votes to call a special session of the Legislature to change the way the state allocates electoral votes, an effort led by former President Donald Trump to pressure the Legislature officially failed.

The Washington Post Editorial Board has announced its support for ranked choice voting (which will be on the ballot in 4 states and the District of Columbia), encouraging DC residents in particular to support Initiative 83.

There are few truly competitive congressional elections in the US. However, Colorado voters in the state's 3rd Congressional District will not only decide the tightest election in the state, but the entire country this November.

Trump won over independent voters in 2016, lost them in 2020. Can he win them again in 2024?

Gallup reported Tuesday that 58% of US adults believe that the US needs a third major political party in the US. This dropped 5 percentage points from 2023, but still represents a clear majority of Americans.

In a new video posted by the nonpartisan primary reform group Open Primaries, Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt discusses his support for an open primary system in which all candidates have to make their case to all registered voters, regardless of party.

In the latest episode of the Forward Podcast, Forward Party Co-Founder Andrew Yang interviews Rory Stewart, whose multifaceted record includes almost becoming UK prime minister. He is the author of the best-selling book, "How Not to Be a Politician."

In the United States, elections–and the governments they produce–are lagging indicators of public sentiment. Elections simply provide a quantitative measure of what the voters believe. The governments that emerge from elections merely establish order and discipline with respect to those policies and approaches that have already been emotionally and intellectually pioneered and adopted by the American people.

Close and contested elections are a part of American history, and the upcoming presidential election will likely continue this tradition.

The Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America, as part of the Bill of Rights, was placed in force on December 15, 1791: A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

In the latest episode of Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO, comedian Bill Maher said Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign proves something about American politics...

An early Aug. PBS/NPR/Marist poll found Harris leading Trump by 11 percentage points among independents, but a Sept. poll puts Trump ahead by 3 points.

Veterans for All Voters hosted a recent virtual discussion with Tusk Ventures CEO Badley Tusk as part of their ongoing Reformation Series.

The 2024 Arizona ballot will feature a complete overhaul in how elections are conducted in the state with Proposition 140. However, while the measure aims to create a fairer process, some propositions would have an opposite effect.

On September 10, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will participate in the second presidential debate of the 2024 cycle -- but it will be the first time they share the same stage.

Before Biden stepped out of the race, there was a widely held conventional wisdom that while third-party candidates, like Kennedy, had virtually no chance of winning the election, they could influence a close race between Biden and Trump.

Now that the celebratory trashing (by Democrats) and overheated celebration (by Republicans) of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to suspend his independent presidential bid and back former President Donald Trump is in the rearview mirror, it’s time for an independent to sort this one out.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his campaign Friday, citing "media censorship," a “sham Democratic primary," and “continued legal warfare” the DNC has waged on him to keep him off the ballot.

Former Idaho Attorney General Jim Jones pushed back against claims that nonpartisan open primaries would lead to gun control in a recent op-ed in the Idaho Press – calling it a fear mongering tactic that has no basis in reality.

Vice President Kamala Harris is slated to make her speech at the DNC Thursday, in which she will formally accept the Democratic Party’s nomination for President of the United States. It is a historic moment that has not come without scrutiny.

In casual conversations with friends or coworkers we often hear very different views about our elected leaders. Some extremely negative—especially from the ones who voted for the “other” candidate.

Tennessee technically has open primaries in which party registration is not required to participate. However, it would be hard to tell under current state law.

For a democracy to function, one simple, central fact must be clear to all: who won. There is no disagreement about the winner of the Super Bowl or the Olympic gold medal in the shot put, and the same should be true for election results. But in polarized America, we’ve lost that clarity and public consensus.

Throughout history, criticism of the Supreme Court has come from political factions opposed to the substance of its decisions rather than their constitutionality.

It’s time to talk about how President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential campaign is related to our broken political system. This failing system got us to the point where we had the two major party candidates rejected by 70 percent of the electorate, according to most polls.

In this sense, the only thing shocking about his appearance was that people were shocked.

Imagine a judge learning that the trial she’s just been assigned involves criminal charges against her husband’s company or a lawsuit against her child. It’s clear what would happen: The judge would recognize that she faces a conflict of interest and recuse herself from the case.

IVN asked its audience if they support term limits for the US Supreme Court after President Joe Biden announced his position that justices should be limited to 18-year terms instead of a lifetime appointment as stipulated in the US Constitution.

With less than 100 days until the November elections, the Republican and Democratic Parties have ramped up their attacks against the other side in hopes of gaining some political advantage – but the tactics in the 2024 cycle have been unorthodox to say the least. 

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas came under intense scrutiny last year for failing to disclose lavish gifts from real estate mogul Harlan Crow. Among the questions raised by ProPublica’s reporting on the Justice and the billionaire was whether Thomas had violated disclosure requirements.

America is more divided today than it has been at any time in the last fifty years. The divisions in public life run so deep that they can often seem insurmountable.

It takes a beautiful media mind to know how to turn a near-death experience into the ultimate photo op before the smoke has cleared from your would-be assassin’s rifle. Trump’s defiant fist in the air while chanting “Fight” embodied the spirit of his campaign and those who follow him.

This year’s Democratic Party presidential primary was a choreographed affair dubbed “Operation Bubble Wrap.” The rules were manipulated by party insiders to ensure Joe Biden would face no scrutiny and no competition. The idea that he should stay in the race because he “won the primary” is absurd. There was no primary. By design.

Last week, I recorded a podcast interview with Gabe Hart. Gabe lives in western Tennessee and is a plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging voter suppression signs that are hung at every poll site in Tennessee on primary day.

In the wake of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, leaders on both sides of the aisle publicly called for unity and the tempering of extreme and hyperbolic language. But those calls have been better in theory, than practice.

Following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, leaders of both major political parties have called for unity and for a change to the venomous rhetoric in US politics. 

The Supreme Court of the United States is a unique, hybrid political-legal institution. It is staffed by life-tenured judges who interpret a centuries-old document replete with imprecise text that the justices must apply to an ever-changing society.

The 90-minute faceplant that was Joe Biden’s performance in the CNN presidential debate did little to dispel notions that he might be too old to serve another term as president. Footage of Jill Biden escorting him down the two steps of the debate stage didn’t help either.

In a system that was designed to perpetuate a zero-sum contest between two sides, the stakes get higher each election cycle to convince people they have to cast their ballot a certain way “or else.”

Imagine this: A general election with no negative campaigning and four or five viable candidates (regardless of party affiliation) competing based on their own personal ideas and actions — not simply their level of obstruction or how well they demonize their opponents.

"It was a sad day for the country." Many voters have shared this exact sentiment in the days following the June 27 CNN presidential debate.

Once again, the US finds itself having a familiar discussion. Some people will use the term “democracy” to refer to the US, and then there will inevitably be some who respond with, “We’re not a democracy; we’re a republic.”

I’m a lifelong Democrat. I served for more than 20 years in the California Legislature and as Director of Finance under a Democratic governor. I supported and financially contributed to Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Amy Klobuchar in 2020.

We can no longer deny that we are living in a post-truth era. It is real, and it has tragic consequences. But the situation is not hopeless.

Centrist solutions exist to many of California’s and our nation’s problems. Politics makes it easier to attack an opponent’s position than to advance one’s own, however.

Changing your media diet is like changing your food diet. To make it sustainable, it is not enough to leave out unhealthy items. Much more important is to focus on what is actually good for us.

In the midst of a pandemic with social and political unrest, a violent effort to intimidate Congress and threats of violence at state capitals, I keep thinking about new beginnings.

It has become clear that there is not even close to the 2/3 majority needed in the Senate to vote to convict. While the House vote to impeach helped the Democrats shape the post capitol incursion, post inaugural narrative, it has left the Democratic leadership “all dressed up...

Looking at our recent polarized presidential elections — and even the politicization of wearing masks (to combat COVID-19) — it’s easy to say that the partisan divide in our country has never been greater. 

Without the tempering influence of moderation, the public face of politics is dissolved into banal drama. Extremists engage in theatrical behavior by demonizing their foes in bitterly careless terms.

The reality is millions of voters do not have faith in the electoral process. There are many voters who believe fraud took place. There are many more who feel their voices were silenced or discarded completely.

With unconscious biases driving our perceptions, and political rhetoric and a flood on information fueling our animosity, the level of societal incivility continues to heighten. Here are some ways to break the cycle.

Judicial review does not appear in the Constitution. As former Justice Antonin Scalia admitted, “The Constitution of the United States nowhere says that the Supreme Court shall be the last word on what the Constitution means…"

Here are four reasons voter reform is a far better, and more permanent solution to the problems the most earnest Democrats are hoping to solve by impeaching Donald Trump.

Instead of trying to manipulate voters into thinking something they clearly don’t think is true -- that Donald Trump is too conservative -- Democrats would do better to advance a candidate that’s not too liberal.

The knock from Republicans, Never-Trumpers and moderate Dems is that most of the 2020 candidates are too far to the left and out of touch. Last week’s display confirmed it. This was a definitive example of a party controlled by its fringe elements, preferring purity over victory.