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Like a lot of Missouri voters, I’m beyond angry at our recent divisive presidential election and scandal-plagued state legislature. It’s time to vent that anger at the real culprit: an election system rigged against the voters. If you’re like me, you have deeply held political principles, but right now you’d prefer if news about politics just went away. For the media and political parties, politics is just about putting people in boxes and keeping them there. As an African-American woman who

Last week, Congress avoided a government shutdown by agreeing to a continuing resolution to keep the federal government funded for another week. Then over the weekend, US lawmakers agreed to a deal that will extend funding through September while Congress and the White House continue to negotiate longer-term fiscal policy priorities. The US House passed the budget deal Wednesday. But amidst Washington's annual kabuki theater dance around fiscal policy and possible government shutdowns, a litt

A recent Gallup poll listed ‘dissatisfaction with the government’ as the highest ranking problem facing Americans. They found that fewer than a third of Americans are happy with the direction the country is going. More concerning, partisanship is more strident than ever -- preventing any kind of pragmatic reform before it even starts. With that type of gridlock, it’s no surprise that nearly 40% of voters now self-identify as political independents. Now imagine if instead we had legislators tha

Two law students from the University of Kentucky have embarked on a grassroots campaign to bring direct democracy to the bluegrass state. Vince Taormina and Ryan Mosley are the co-founders of the Kentucky People’s Alliance - a fledgeling effort to amend the state’s constitution to allow for voter-backed initiatives and referenda. Kentucky is one of 24 states where citizens have neither initiative nor referendum rights. At a time when voters’ dissatisfaction with government couldn’t be higher, T

President Donald Trump’s first weeks as president seem to be centered around one strategy: Prove to the American people that he’s a man of his word and that unlike most politicians, he will actually keep his campaign promises. Despite the rocky start, he has mostly been successful in this endeavor. Travel ban? Executive order signed. Border wall? In the works. Restrictions on lobbying? Done. Trump has shown voters he is indeed a man of his word with the stroke of a pen. In fact, according to Ga

Despite being home to many politicians who publicly champion voting reform, California has its fair share of partisan hurdles that stifle nonpartisan election reform. There are two reasons for this: California is a large state, so it has a lot of politicians; also, voting rights has been defined in the national conversation as an issue related to access, as opposed to accountability. The type of election system a community uses has a direct impact on the type of representation people get. Unfo

As the new year gets underway, state legislatures around the country are convening to tackle the issues of the day. In at least nine states, electoral reform is on the agenda. Building on the momentum of historic wins for ranked choice voting in Maine and Benton County, Oregon, lawmakers from Massachusetts to Hawaii have introduced bills that would expand its use in their states. The bills vary in their scope and history. Bills in Virginia and Connecticut would adopt ranked choice voting for al

I was inspired to march alongside my Grandma last weekend, wearing a pink "Pussyhat" she made for me. I was moved by one woman’s horrific account of alleged abuse in a jail, in Greene County, Missouri. A story that is hard to believe could happen here, in the United States. The story of an educated, white woman’s ten hours of dehumanization and debasement in the Greene County jail is what inspired my march last Saturday. If something like this could happen to one of the more privileged women in

For those who have paid close attention to President Barack Obama’s national energy policy, Sunday’s decision to deny the already approved permits to finish construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline came as little surprise. Last year, President Obama issued an executive order that killed the Keystone XL pipeline, despite the fact his own State Department issued a report stating the pipeline would have no impact on carbon emissions and would not harm the environment. Of the numerous political

One of the main news stories right now is the proliferation of fake news websites on social media and their potential effect on US elections. One purveyor of fake news drew heavy fire for boasting, "I think Trump is in the White House because of me." Meanwhile Google and Facebook announced they would be banning fake news websites from their advertising networks, citing the immense popularity of fake news with partisans on social media this election cycle. So it's important now for the independ