Search query: arizona

The Washington Post reported Wednesday that voters in 5 states are leaning toward legalizing marijuana for recreational use. Another big year for pro-legalization advocates could put pressure on the federal government to act, since marijuana is still classified as a Schedule I controlled substance (i.e. it is still illegal under federal law). READ MORE: At Least 8 States Will Have Marijuana on the Ballot in November One poll shows marijuana with the biggest lead in Nevada. According to the lat

Presidential politics has taken center stage this election year, for good reason. But if you're interested in making a political impact, you may be focusing on the wrong race. The truth is, when you vote for a candidate (or donate to their campaign), you can't be sure you will get what you voted for. Politicians make all sorts of promises during the campaign, but after the election, often for perfectly good reasons, their positions are less clear. This is the nature of indirect democracy. Ball

Marijuana legalization is an issue gaining traction and popularity in the United States, a fact highlighted by the increase in ballot measures nationwide to legalize the drug for either recreational or medicinal use. In 2016 alone, 5 states could legalize marijuana completely for adults 21 or older while 3 or 4 more states will consider legalizing medical marijuana. Full Legalization Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, and California all have ballot initiatives taxing and regulating mariju

With smartphone ownership being so common in the U.S., the questions surrounding electronic voting are becoming increasingly important. 39 percent of likely voters surveyed by Consumer Reports said they would choose voting by computer or mobile device over traditional methods. But despite the growing openness to electronic voting, e-voting opportunities have declined since the mid-2000s. Because states lack the funding to repair and replace newer voting machines, many have reverted to more tradi

© 2016 by Hedrick Smith. Republished with permission from the author. Smith is the executive editor of reclaimtheamericandream.org. WASHINGTON — In this tumultuous election year, little attention has focused on the groundswell of support for political reform across grass-roots America. Beyond Bernie Sanders’s call for a political revolution, a broad array of state-level citizen movements are pressing for reforms against Citizens United, gerrymandering and campaign megadonors to give average vot

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,

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

In early July, the Pew Research Center found that 65 percent of respondents said the campaign was not focused on important policy debates. A study released by Harvard's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy is now lending credence to that sentiment. The researchers – having studied news statements from eight major outlets during the primary season between January 1 and June 7 – concluded that "substantive concerns" accounted for only 11 percent of the campaign coverage. Receiv

FairVote has compiled and analyzed state-by-state data on voter turnout for the 2016 presidential primaries. Released today, it reviews trends in voter turnout nationally since 2000, as well as differences in turnout by party. Also included is a deeper analysis of the 23 states which held competitive primaries in both 2008 and 2016, exploring the effects of primary type (open, closed, or hybrid) and voter access laws. A full report can be downloaded from FairVote’s website. Record Breaking Rep

To many American voters, the dirty attacks of the 2016 election cycle are dizzying. Donald Trump has popularized the hashtag #CrookedHillary. Hillary Clinton characterizes Donald Trump as “temperamentally unfit and totally unqualified to be president.” Blows traded back and forth create a soap opera of vitriol and drama. And the voters can’t look away. Political attacks are nothing new, however. In fact, they’re nearly as old as the country and are a staple of presidential election politics.