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June 15, 2015 marks exactly 800 years since the sealing of the Magna Carta by King John, in an English meadow called Runnymede. The Magna Carta is widely regarded as the document that marked the beginning of the Anglo tradition of constitutional liberty, which would eventually lead to the writing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. The writers of the U.S. Constitution wished to preserve the natural rights they already held, including those truly fundamental right

Californians are concerned about the state's abysmal voter turnout and seem ready to try some different solutions to increase participation. The state experienced historically low turnout in California's June primary and the November general election in 2014, and Californians seem to have noticed. The Public Policy Institute of California released survey results Wednesday that show eight of 10 Californians say turnout is either a big problem (59 percent) or somewhat of a problem (25 percent). O

"Now we'll be stuck with Goldwater," quips  Roger Sterling of AMC's Mad Men, referring to recent news of Republican candidate Nelson Rockefeller's marriage to a divorcé 18 years his junior. Roger's statement is a reference to a popular narrative that is used to describe the demise of the former New York governor. What is incomplete about this perception, however, is the impact that race relations had on Rockefeller's viability in the increasingly volatile South. At a point when both the Mad Men

In February 2015, Edwin Gomes became the first candidate running solely on the Working Families Party (WFP) line to win a seat in a state legislature. Gomes beat out four other candidates in a special election to represent Connecticut’s 23rd senate district. On May 5, 2015, the WFP won another special election – this one to fill a vacant seat in New York’s legislature. Diana Richardson now represents the General Assembly's 43rd district, covering Crown Heights and Prospect-Lefferts Gardens. Th

Kentucky U.S. Senator Rand Paul announced on his Facebook page and Twitter account that he has taken the Senate floor to begin his filibuster of renewing the PATRIOT Act, specifically provisions in Section 215 that are set to expire at the end of the month. Check out the live footage of Paul's filibuster here. https://twitter.com/RandPaul/status/601079082676318208 1:15 pm ET - Rand Paul takes the floor by saying, "There comes a time in the history of nations when fear and complacency allow pow

What the pundits and election watchers in traditional media didn't tell you about the 2014 general election was that it was the least competitive election season in 30 years. That's according to a new analysis authored by Professor Carl Klarner and published on Ballotpedia, which examines the number of competitive state legislative elections since 1972. An election that is won by 5 percentage points or less is considered competitive by their analysis. According to Klarner's analysis: Declines

The Independent Party of Oregon (IPO), which recently gained major-party status in the state, has reportedly told Oregon's secretary of state that it will allow unaffiliated voters to participate in its state-funded primary election. Imagine the irony if it didn't. As previously reported on IVN, the party was informed that it met the qualifications to petition for major-party status in February. "Under Oregon law, a political party becomes a “major” party when it’s membership is equal to 5% of

A coalition of dozens of civil rights organizations are mounting pressure on Congress to not renew key provisions of the Patriot Act. They're specifically targeting Section 215 of the law, which is up for re-authorization on June 1. Section 215 is a provision which has allowed the National Security Agency (NSA) to sweep up the phone metadata records on millions and millions of Americans living within the US, whether or not they are suspected of a crime. According to the Guardian, this data inclu

A Quinnipiac University poll taken in March released Monday. It found that more than 80 percent of adults in key swing states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida supported legalizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Likewise, a majority in all three states also supported legalizing small amounts for recreational use. When compared to the likely 2016 presidential candidates, a peculiar picture emerges. The Washington Post turned the data into the following graphs: Marijuana was once

Update: After reconsidering the legislation, a committee in the Idaho House approved the cannabidiol oil bill in a 12-4 vote. Idaho is not a place one would expect to see bipartisanship. Regardless of whether you use the term “Republican” or “conservative,” Idaho consistently shows up in the top 5 states for that affiliation. The political news coming out of the state has been a long litany of arch-conservatism that has raised several eyebrows on the national stage. Recent examples have includ