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I was impressed to find such a far-reaching conglomerate of individuals at the National Conference of Independents in New York City, which took place during the weekend of March 13-15. Illinois, California, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, Virginia, Oregon, Mississippi, Colorado, Kentucky, New York, Arizona, and the list could go on and on. We all know that New York City is not cheap, let alone travelling from the other side of the country, but we were primed and ready for a fine weekend of events.

Two campaigns to alter the process of presidential debates are working to change the rules set by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). Change the Rule aims to add an alternative route for minor parties and independents to participate in the CPD-sponsored debates, while Open Debates wants to create an entirely new debate process. The tradition of presidential debates dates back to 1960, between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. While debates between presidential candidates occurred we

On Sunday, March 22, the Independent Voter Project, represented by Chad Peace, discussed the current lawsuit before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the constitutionality of the closed primary system in New Jersey during the political segment, Politically Speaking, on NBC7 in San Diego."When the state gets involved in conducting an election process, it should serve the people, and it should be a system that is designed to get representatives that best represent everyone," Peace say

The number of political independents has certainly ballooned. Indeed, the dissatisfaction with political parties has reached unprecedented levels, and it is not uncommon to read jeremiads decrying the abuses of political parties or to come across comments that question their necessity altogether. Despite the understandable level of frustration with today's partisan wrangling, political parties do serve a necessary function in politics. Instead of perpetually cataloging their misdeeds and ventin

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- Oral argument in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals was heard Tuesday morning in the case, Balsam, et al. v. Guadagno (New Jersey Secretary of State). The Independent Voter Project represented the plaintiffs in the suit, which was originally filed in the district court in Newark, New Jersey on March 5, 2014. The suit challenges the constitutionality of New Jersey’s election system, which gives political parties and their members exclusive access to an integral stage of the

The Washington Post reported Monday that the way voters participate in presidential primary elections, who will be allowed to participate, and when may change in a handful of states based on how particular systems will help an individual candidate. "Earlier this month, Kentucky Republicans took the first step toward abandoning a presidential primary in favor of a caucus, at the behest of Sen. Rand Paul. Elsewhere, supporters of more centrist candidates such as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Re

On March 5, 2014, the Independent Voter Project, supported by a broad coalition of organizations from across the country, filed suit in New Jersey federal court, arguing that New Jersey’s closed primary election system is unconstitutional as it is conducted for the private benefit of two increasingly unpopular and private political parties to the complete exclusion of the 47 percent of independent and third-party voters in the state. As predicted, the state's political party machines, along wi

NATIONAL -- In 2012, not counting Obama and Romney, there were 26 candidates on presidential ballots in a least one state. They garnered between 518 and nearly 1.3 million votes. Some of these candidates ran as independents; others represented third parties, including the Green Party, the Constitution Party, and the Justice Party. They represented ideologies ranging from Socialist to Libertarian. Some candidates pursue a broad swath of the electorate; others aim toward a much smaller niche. Mos

NATIONAL -- There is no doubt that there are some IVN readers who support some form of proportional representation, often seen as a voting scheme that maximizes representation and makes every vote count. But the real question is, what would be the avenue to implement proportional representation nationwide? What are the roadblocks and potential legal challenges? To answer these questions, we have to examine the history of how we got to our current two-party voting system. History of Current V

Update: On Tuesday, March 3, 2015, the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals officially granted oral argument in the case, Balsam, et al. v. Guadagno, on Tuesday, March 17, 2015. A coalition that includes seven individual plaintiffs, the Independent Voter Project, and IndependentVoting.org filed suit in March in a federal court challenging the constitutionality of New Jersey’s closed primary system. Plaintiffs assert two main grievances under federal law: 1. New Jersey’s closed primary system