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Earlier this year, Utah and Washington quietly joined 14 other states that have eliminated the use of registration deadlines as a final cutoff to be able to vote. The congruent actions of a red state and blue state bring the number of states that allow voters to register or update a registration when they go to vote to nearly one in three. It’s a critical threshold that could spell the end of voter registration deadlines as we’ve known them for 100 years. Enabling voters to address and fix reg

Democracy advocates recently celebrated a victory in Maine, where voters used ranked-choice voting in their statewide primaries — the first state ever to do so. In that election, voters also approved a referendum to keep the ranked-choice system for future elections. They will use it this November in the elections for U.S. Senate and U.S. House.ALSO READ: Independents Made the Difference in Maine’s Ranked Choice VotingAdvocates say this method of voting opens up the system to third parties and i

Are Independent Voters Truly Independent, or Are They a Myth? Take the Survey For good reason, there is a lot of attention on Maine right now. I got to spend some time in Maine last week on the day the people made history with a big victory in protecting the state's ranked choice voting law. Voters also used ranked choice voting for the first time in statewide primary elections. I think the hidden news of the week, though, is that independent voters distinctly count – and they’re not just clos

Voter suppression is a strategy to influence the outcome of an election by discouraging or preventing people from voting and is different from political campaigning. Campaigning attempts to change likely voting behavior by changing the opinions of potential voters through persuasion. Voter suppression attempts to reduce the number of voters who might vote against a candidate or proposition through other means, such as legal hurdles or physical intimidation. Although one can argue voter suppre

Update 5/9/18: Issue 1 -- Ohio redistricting reform -- passed with three-fourths voter support, 74.9% voting "Yes." Update 5/8/18, 8:57 PM ET: Election results in Ohio point to overwhelming victory for Issue 1, with no active opposition opposing the measure. Ohio voters will go to the polls Tuesday for the state's primary elections. On top of voting for their preferred nominees for local, state, and federal elected offices, they will also have a chance to pass major redistricting reform. It i

As independent voters, we’re all about ensuring that power resides with “the people,” but what does that mean?  Can “the people” have too much power in a representative, constitutional democracy? Recent developments in Maine and Utah this week (discussed below) have me thinking about this. I’m also asking this question because here in New Hampshire, as in many other states, voters don’t have the right to adopt or repeal laws by initiative or referendum.  When it comes to enacting the types of

Every parent wants a healthy child, right? Too often, though, people neglect to consider just how much the events of childhood can leave a lasting impact on a child. For example, we have only very recently started to understand just how much mental illness is impacting the current younger generations, and recent conversations in the gun control debates have drawn new attention to the high number of young people living with mental health issues. New laws are being designed to give young people

California’s Secretary of State Alex Padilla has released the 2018 Voter Guide. The guide contains all relevant information related to the various propositions and candidate races voters will be asked to weigh in on this June. This article will focus on the race for Treasurer and publish the statements that have been provided to the Secretary of State’s office. Jack M. Guerrero | REPUBLICAN Jack Guerrero brings a unique combination of public and private sector experience, with a quintessentia

On the eve of another government shutdown, President Trump told reporters outside the Pentagon that the effect would be hardest felt by the nation’s military, something that the president’s critics were quick to dismiss as hyperbole. “If for any reason it shuts down the worst thing is what happens to our military,” Trump said as he was greeted by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on the steps of the Pentagon. Vice President Mike Pence was along for the visit. "We are here to support our country's m

With the new year, begins a new legislative session. Legislators have the opportunity to use this time to introduce bills to empower voters in their state. Ranked choice voting (RCV) continues to expand as new bills have been introduced in the Missouri, Virginia, Indiana and Utah legislatures. On Jan. 3 Missouri State Representative Dan Stacey introduced HB 1346: Requires all state and federal offices to use ranked choice voting, adding one new section relating to ranked choice voting. The prov