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A group of independent candidates are running to be the first unaffiliated lawmakers elected to the legislature in Colorado history. The slate of independents was brought together by Unite Colorado, which is trying to build the structural and financial support these candidates need to beat the two-party establishment. Among these candidates is Steve Peterson, who is running in the historically "deep red" State Senate District 30. Peterson is in a unique position because, if elected, he alone co

Last week I traveled to Kansas for an appearance at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas. Nestled in the hills of Lawrence (seemingly the only hills in this flattest of states), the Institute building is a striking structure, framing a towering stained glass rendering of the American flag. But for all its modernism, on the path to the main entrance, there is a four-foot stone hitching post from the original Dole ranch. The post is weathered, a clear reminder of t

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

Neal Simon is running for United States Senate. The successful businessman is an affirmed independent, and he is competing in bright blue Maryland against incumbent Democratic Senator Ben Cardin as Cardin seeks a third term. Simon threw his hat in the ring at an interesting time in political history: Republicans are ‘retiring’ in droves, the House of Representatives appears broken, the Senate seems to be kind of holding it together, the White House is unpredictable, and the Supreme Court has Ma

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

Another election season, another increasingly bizarre redrawing of the electoral map. In states across the U.S., voting districts are elongated and chopped, stretched like taffy to cover certain state regions and amputated to avoid others. All these calculations and measurements work to ensure that our democratic system of government doesn’t function the way it is intended. The process of redrawing favorable district lines — affectionately termed “gerrymandering” — is an unfortunate outgrowth o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih9Ir0B5uGE At a briefing on Capitol Hill, the University of Maryland’s Program for Public Consultation presented new public opinion data that shows American voters are eager for three key electoral reforms that would give voters a greater voice at the ballot box and more fair representation in government, while tempering the partisan rancor that currently dominates our politics. The survey was conducted online with a random sample of 2,482 registered voters who

Welcome to our weekly post, Independent Action, where we let you know the important moves independent candidates and organizations made over the past week. Nathan Altman, a 30-year old “scrappy entrepreneur who’s built a career on being a maker and builder of things,” has entered the race for U.S. Senate for Indiana. He’s been featured quite a bit this past week through organizations and publications such as Unite America and the Indianapolis Business Journal. During his interview with the Ind

The track record for winning an election as an independent is far from good. However, Neal Simon of Maryland hopes to strengthen those numbers come November. We sat down with the U.S. Senate candidate to discuss how he plans to win, the issues he would tackle if elected, and how he would impact the people of Maryland. Check out the full interview below. FWM: Tell us a little bit about the day you decided to run for a U.S. Senate seat. NS: So, the journey started awhile back and it started beca

The consequences of party-dominated elections; of closed party primaries, gerrymandered districts, and major party control of the ballot, of the media and of the debates, in addition to the partisan dominance of the very ways in which issues are framed and discussed -- the consequences of all this is to block the full and open participation of the American people in shaping the country in which we live. The habit of secret political bargains between elites started early in America. For example,