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Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted verified Wednesday that Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson will appear on the presidential ballot in November. Johnson supporters had to file Johnson as an independent because the Libertarian Party currently is not recognized as a minor party since it did not field a candidate for governor in 2014. Well, the party did, but Libertarian candidate Charlie Earl was disqualified from appearing on the ballot by Husted. According to the Columbus Dispatch,

There's an axiom in polling that goes back to 1936. If you expect to win the presidency, you'd better be polling well as September begins. Nobody really 'likes' to admit that polling is as good of a science as it is; it tends to undermine our sense of control and autonomy -- that less than 1,000 people polled can represent the population of 146 million or so voters in the United States. But that's the nature of statistics -- as well as the numbers being criticized for any number of reasons. B

As with past election cycles, third party and independent candidates – as well as initiatives aimed at reducing the power of the two major parties – are struggling to achieve access to general election ballots. In some cases, this is the result of general apathy toward specific parties, candidates, or reforms. In other cases, however, their exclusion from the ballot stems from a variety of causes, including minor technicalities, official ineptitude, constitutionally dubious legal barriers, and,

1. Both parties engage in and benefit from gerrymandering, the practice of redrawing district lines for partisan gain. In 2010, Republicans invested millions in statewide races to retake state legislatures for the purpose of controlling congressional redistricting. Since then, Republicans have created highly gerrymandered maps in states like North Carolina and Virginia. Democrats are guilty of gerrymandering as well: Maryland hosts some of the most contorted, gerrymandered districts in the count

The Republican and Democratic primaries this year reminded many of an episode of Dysfunctional Family Feud and although the path to the resulting nominations ended differently, the long lasting effects may be largely the same. As Ed Morrisey of HotAir and The Week recently pointed out, “the deep divisions running within both parties at what are supposed to be unity-fests suggest that the wheels may be coming off the much-derided two-party system.” With major party dissatisfaction at an all-time

In the weeks since the California primary, when Hillary Clinton joined Donald Trump in becoming her party’s presumptive nominee for president, FairVote has tracked both candidates’ campaign appearances. FairVote’s similar analysis in 2012 showed just how much the candidates focus on swing states that might tip the election with our current Electoral College rules. After the conventions in 2012, Barack Obama campaigned in a grand total of just eight states and Mitt Romney added only two more. The

Donald Trump’s fan base looks different from what you might imagine. Some characterize Trump supporters as caucasian men, likely living on a farm in rural Wyoming. However, Trump support is quite diverse. Despite some of the comments we have heard from Trump and the media's response, women and minorities do not always shy away from the candidate. Trump has support from individuals of every demographic. Trump does not lead in the polls with any of these groups. Women and minorities are not his

Tim Kaine is as vanilla middle as you can get. -- Robert Reich 7/24/2016 In Robert Reich's op-ed on Sunday, he questioned whether Hillary Clinton 'got it' when it came to selecting Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) as her running mate against the Trump/Pence ticket, accusing her of fundamentally ignoring the progressive nature of this year's primary. Clinton was in a terrific position of choice, already knowing the opposition's lineup before her choice was formalized -- she could have chosen anyone fr

As the 2016 Republican National Convention wrapped up Thursday, one aspect was clear: Americans are increasingly looking for alternative candidates outside of the two-party duopoly. According to Google Trends, searches for "3rd party candidate 2016" increased by 1,150 percent over the last week. Interestingly, states with the highest third party candidate searches in the United States were (in order): Ohio, Missouri, Colorado, South Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, and Michigan. Politico reports t

I grew up in a country where most elections were fixed, voting made no difference, and the political process was a dull affair run by a party whose politics were as odious as its leaders. In that country I was able to live and vote without joining the aforementioned party, although I had to withstand poll workers knocking on my door until I exercised my civic right and duty. This past March, living in a country that prides itself on its democracy, I had to join a party in order to exercise my r