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To have their voices heard and enact change, citizens are urged to use their vote. But how can America's population be truly represented when, in some states, it is nearly impossible for independent or minor party candidates to even appear on voters' ballots? What good is a "fair" vote when viable candidates are undermined by strict ballot access laws that favor the two major parties? Clearly, election reform at state and federal levels is desperately needed. Here are 8 of America's worst ballo

A thrilling victory by a young insurgent candidate, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, against a 20-year incumbent and party boss, US Rep. Joseph Crowley, in the June 26 New York primary seems to be reverberating over state and national politics. Pundits are posing the question of whether a national anti-establishment wave within Democratic Party politics is in the making. Many activists -- myself among them -- hope so, but don't shout too soon. Remember how in 2004 a young upstart, newly-elected senat

Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Kevin McCormick is officially off his party's primary ballot. He was the only libertarian candidate still in the race, until Arizona GOP Chair Jonathan Lines challenged the legitimacy of over 90 percent of his ballot signatures. In a phone conversation with McCormick, he said he found out 15 minutes before his hearing that he would be kicked off the ballot. The one hold up was Maricopa County. He said that because the county recorder's office went beyond what

WASHINGTON – If like most Americans you’re angry that our democracy feels broken, that elections are being corrupted by billionaire and corporate money, and that politicians are rigging elections through gerrymandering, we’ve got good news for you. Grassroots America is staging a political comeback. Citizen rebellions against the politicians and the power brokers are in full swing – from the student March for Our Lives to the spreading teacher strikes from Kentucky to Oklahoma and Arizona to t

ARIZONA - Republicans in Arizona are trying to rob Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Kevin McCormick of a spot on the ballot. This is in spite of the fact that he has submitted the second-most signatures of any candidate to meet qualifications for the November ballot. Jonathan Lines, chairman of the Arizona Republican Party, has filed a lawsuit claiming that over 90 percent of the signatures McCormick collected are illegitimate -- meaning they are not real Arizona voters. RELATED ARTICLE: Ke

A wise man once said, “Those who make the rules, rule.” Today, we wonder whether the current rules of voting and governing can deliver any kind of progress. An important rules question was on the ballot in Maine yesterday and the voters delivered a clear message. After a hard-fought campaign against a brutal opposition, the voters passed Question 1 by a margin of 55% to 45%. This was a mass veto of the state legislature’s attempt to turn back the will of the voters. In 2016, Maine voters enact

It’s been a while! However, no matter how little we’ve written about independent candidates and organizations over the past month, actions continue to be taken by those who look to change the two-party system. Let’s start with Unite America and the candidates that fall under their umbrella. Neal Simon, running for U.S. Senate in Maryland, had a fantastic month while opening his new campaign office. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.170783426893078.1073741830.126383201333101&type=1&l=15

Former Republican Governor of Massachusetts Bill Weld has endorsed Libertarian Kevin McCormick for Governor of Arizona. The announcement comes as McCormick is on the campaign trail, driving home his message of fiscal responsibility, the need for better teacher pay, preservation of gun owner’s rights and the need to scrap cumbersome and expensive marijuana laws. According to Weld, the former 2016 Libertarian Party Vice Presidential candidate, McCormick’s efforts to work across the aisle make hi

Too much of a good thing can easily be a bad thing. Too much water leads to water intoxication. Too much working out leads to rhabdomyolysis. Too many antibiotics lead to drug-resistant superbugs. And finally, too high of a signature requirement keeps good candidates off ballots. Signature requirements to make a ballot make sense. Go search social media for “independent candidates” and you’ll see a wide array of highly unqualified individuals running for public office. If we let all these

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