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A central element of this remarkable year in election reform has been the pivot of the anti-gerrymandering fight from the courts to the ballot boxes. As has been widely reported, five states vote this year on state constitutional amendments to block partisan gerrymandering and fundamentally change how redistricting is done, far more than in any other year. Ohio approved its amendment in May with 75% support; four others -- Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, and Utah -- will vote in November. Nearly

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey has announced he is appointing Jon Kyl to succeed John McCain. Kyl, once one of the most powerful Republicans in the U.S. Senate, returns to Congress after retiring in 2013 to become the second-highest-ranking Republican senator. He is considered a pro-growth conservative. Kyl has agreed to serve at least through the end of the year, if he should step down after the end of the session, the Republican governor would be required to appoint another replacement. The su

In the lead up to the 2018 midterms, female candidates running as independents and third parties are shockingly under-represented by organizations who endorse and track women – even those groups who claim to be nonpartisan. One example is The Center for American Women and Politics that was established in July 1971 at Rutgers University’s Eagleton Institute of Politics. For decades, CAWP has claimed to be “a nonpartisan voice that is central to creating awareness and understanding of women’s pol

As a staunch independent voter, I write in response to two op-ed pieces in the Aug. 19 edition of the Arizona Daily Star. Both pieces were thoughtful and contained interesting perspectives on our political system. Yet, each contained glaring misconceptions that should be addressed. In the first piece — “Parties should reassert control over primaries” — columnist Jonathan Hoffman laments what he sees as a lack of party control over primaries. To the contrary, except in those few instances where

Arizona independents are having a difficult time voting in in their state. Some -- like in Pinal County -- were sent the wrong ballot just weeks before the election, while thousands -- like in Maricopa County -- did not initially receive the early voting ballots they requested earlier this month. There are just two weeks before the Arizona primary elections, and some independent voters in Pinal County, and other places, have been sent the wrong ballot. The Pinal County Recorder's Office reports

In my latest interview, I talk with independent campaign manager and digital marketing expert Jenn Gray about a new voter suppression investigation she and her group, Arizona Independents United, are conducting in Maricopa County, Arizona. Jenn believes there are multiple layers of inept -- possibly corrupt -- election administration practices in the county that have led to vast numbers of valid ballot petition signatures being discarded, voters being removed from the active voter rolls, and ev

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