Search query: maryland

On October 20, shortly after the Democratic presidential debate, former U.S. Senator Jim Webb (D-Va.) decided to withdraw from the 2016 Democratic primary. If your first thought is bewilderment over who Jim Webb is, it only highlights how the media has overlooked this presidential candidate. Jim Webb is acutely aware of the current percentage of independent voters to Democrats and Republicans, and not only in the interests of a possible run as an independent candidate. He knows that it is the i

The opening introduction to the Democratic debate was quite telling. Sounding like a preview to a Monday Night Football game, a cheesy male voice went into great detail about the “faceoff” between the two top contenders: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Then, as if the voice over realized he was about to run out of time, summarized the rest of the candidate pool as “three other political veterans are in the mix.” Regardless of the coverage disparities, all Democratic candidates (except one

On July 24, 2015, Greg Dorsey filed a lawsuit against the Maryland State Board of Elections, arguing that the state's requirements for independent ballot access for a Senate seat are unconstitutional. Dorsey claims that those who run as unaffiliated candidates are faced with unfair requirements that violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S Constitution. Beyond what one might think constitutes a "free and fair election," Maryland state law requires a non-affiliated candidate to obt

Dr. Lynn Kahn describes herself as a sort of government mechanic. Her experience stems from her undergraduate work in psychology and her doctoral work in group dynamics of peacemaking. “Early on, I focused on group dynamics. The psychology work in group dynamics and organizational change just kind of built on each other," Dr. Kahn said in an interview for IVN. Immediately after her doctoral work, she started her career in government as an organizational consultant with a specialty in group dyn

While Congress has twice mandated the use of single-member districts (SMD) for electing members of Congress (once in 1842 and again in 1967), state legislatures are at liberty to determine how their representatives will be elected. According to FairVote, at one time, more than half of all state legislators were elected from multi-member districts (MMD). Fifty years ago, more than two-thirds of states had at least some multi-member districts. Today, that number has dropped to just ten: Vermont

We have been conditioned to think that regular folks shouldn't run for office. That's just plain wrong. When the Framers of the Constitution designed the checks and balances of our nation, Congress, the legislative branch, offered the most protections for the people of the United States. As the Framers felt that Congress was the most important, they dealt with it first. Article I of the Constitution outlines the functions and functionality of the U.S. House and the Senate. Congress was design

It is perhaps rarer than a blue moon that both major U.S. political parties agree on something. However, on this point, at least, there is consensus between Democrats and Republicans: The food stamps program must change. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—referred to colloquially as “food stamps”—offers 46 million Americans government assistance for food. According to the program website: SNAP offers nutrition assistance to millions of eligible, low-income individuals and fam

With the Looking to the Founders series running its natural course, it seemed appropriate to move to the next stage of American History. Not that there was a lack of material, but a realization that the 2016 presidential election is going to be an all out brawl over the concept of federalism. Looking at the origins of federalism can help us understand many of the problems we still have today, and sometimes, just sometimes, we might actually find some common ground when we have an honest introsp

Florida's Supreme Court struck down much of the state's congressional districting map on July 9, ordering the redrawing of what it termed "constitutionally invalid" districts in 2 of the 27 districts (requiring a change to 8 congressional districts). Each district represents about 710,000 voters, making this one of the most significant court cases ever involving the practice of gerrymandering. In 2010, Florida's voters overwhelmingly approved (62.9%) a constitutional amendment with some of the

On Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the use of an independent redistricting commission to decide how electoral districts are drawn in Arizona. The 5-4 decision validated the citizen initiative process, which Arizona voters used to implement the state's independent redistricting commission in 2000, ruling that it was "invented in full harmony with the Constitution's conception of the people as the font of government power." "Both parts of the Elections Clause are in line wit