Independent Voter Project Fights to Defend Voting Rights of People over Parties

It seems like most politicians today sound like pre-programmed robots, spewing partisan sermons and perpetuating a superficial battle between a so-called “left” and a “right.”

But why?

Pretty simple: The Republican and Democratic parties have worked TOGETHER in court rooms and in state legislatures for decades, crafting election laws to ensure that 95 percent of elections are decided in primaries rather than in general elections when the most people vote.

So what?

Well, just listen to what the district court judge in New Jersey had to say last week: “Only Democrats and Republicans are qualified to vote in primary elections.”

Really?

What about the fact that taxpayers spent $12 million to fund these elections?

What about the fact that 47 percent of New Jersey voters have decided NOT to join a party when they registered to vote, despite the fact that they “lose their right” to vote by not joining a party?

And what about the fact that nobody in New Jersey has been elected to public office in well over 100 years without first winning the Democratic or Republican primary?We hear all this talk about the influence of money from corporations in our election system. But what if we told you that the two most powerful corporations in America are the Democratic and Republican parties? And what if we told you that these two parties, their lawyers, and their mountains of political influence have created a “democracy” where politicians represent parties first and people second?

So, what if we told you that if you live in a blue district, and you are not a member of the Democratic Party, your vote doesn’t matter? Same goes for the red districts.

And what if we told you that we have embarked on the very first legal fight ever against these awesome machines to ask our courts a simple question: does a state have the obligation to provide every individual voter a meaningful opportunity to vote?

We have.

And what did the court say?

“Independent voters do not have the right to vote in the Democrat or Republican primaries,” the judge continued.

That’s right. The judge didn’t even answer our question. Instead of answering whether the state-funded primary should give every voter an opportunity to participate, he said that the Republican and Democratic parties have the complete right to determine the rules.

But the #EndPartisanship coalition is not giving up without a fight for the People, who should be at the foundation of our democracy.

The Democratic and Republican parties have a powerful team of lawyers. They’ve appointed all the judges. And they’ve written all the rules.We need your help to continue this legal fight. This isn’t about New Jersey. This isn’t about ending the parties.

This is about standing up to two parties that have claimed an entitlement to our democracy that belongs to “We the People,” not these private parties that don’t seem to represent us anymore.

But we need your help.

Our legal team has put in thousands of pro-bono hours already. Will you help us go further?

$50 pays for an hour of legal work.

Court fees, travel expenses, and administrative costs start adding up quick. Will you help us see this battle to the end?

$100 helps us pay administrative costs.

48 states give the two major parties the keys to our democracy. Let’s take ‘em back. Will you help us take this national strategy to more states?

$1,000 helps us go national.