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A new USA Today/Gallup poll shows President Obama has a solid lead among independent voters in key swing states over presumptive Republican presidential candidate former Gov. Mitt Romney. He now polling at a 48% to 39% advantage over Gov. Romney. In January, a same poll found the two were tied. President Obama's share of the vote has increased 8% among independent voters in crucial states since last year. The poll gauged independent voter interest in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, New Hamp

Despite the efforts of the Romney campaign and media treatment of the Republican nominating process as all but wrapped up in his favor, the reality is the GOP race continues on for several reasons. There remains a substantial and meritorious challenge to Gov. Romney receiving 50 delegates from Florida and 29 delegates from Arizona, based on the systems that those states used to award delegate. Both basically used winner-take-all rules, in a violation of RNC policy. It's a view shared by Michael

The US Supreme Court will hold hearings this week on a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Obama’s health care plan. The lawsuit was filed by twenty six states, four small business owners, and the proudly ferocious National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB.)  The lawsuit contends the federal government does not have the authority to order people and businesses to buy health insurance (and face fines if they don’t.)  The hearings will surely be closely watched. Indeed, the future

Today the GOP Presidential Candidates head to the South for a pair of highly contested primaries in Alabama and Mississippi. In what has become an increasingly close race, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum are competing for the Conservative vote, while Mitt Romney looks to the Deep South as a chance at sealing front-runner status. After his first victory in the Virgin Islands, Ron Paul has refrained from actively campaigning in the states. 119 delegates are at stake today: Alabama (50 delegates),

As we noted last week, GOP delegate process is far more complicated than the mainstream media leads people to believe. The primary process is not always as simple as winning the most votes and therefore winning the most delegates. This has only been the case in winner-take-all elections, of which there’s only been two, so far: Florida and South Carolina. In states which hold caucuses, to date Iowa, Nevada, Colorado, Minnesota and Maine, there have been two functions. Round 1, is a “beauty conte

Media focus on the Republican presidential primary process is on a perpetual 24/7 news cycle, relentless and rife with circus sideshows (Hello, Mr. Trump). Yet, the constant microscope from the press hasn't prevented mainstream media outlets from mangling the delegate count. Presently, the number of delegates pledged to any candidate is far less than media outlets are reporting and mathematically point to only one outcome so far: a brokered Republican National Convention. Not So Fast Gov. Romne

As a 22-year-old young man in a denim jacket, with long, dark hair down to the middle of my back, and a big sign that said something against the banks, you might have guessed that I was an Occupy Wall Street protester-- but this was the summer of 2009 and the Occupy Wall Street protests wouldn't happen for another couple years. I was protesting at a Tea Party, and I was proud to be there. Before Occupy Wall Street, there was the Tea Party, and we didn't like big Wall Street banks much either. I

Voters in Florida flocked to the polls yesterday to participate in the Florida primary election. With 29 electoral votes, 50 delegates up for grabs, and as host of the Republican National Convention in August, Florida's political significance is obvious. Despite its political significance, however, voter turnout yesterday was down 14% since 2008. Here are the final results of yesterday's primary election: Mitt Romney: 46.4%, Newt Gingrich: 31.9%, Rick Santorum: 13.4%, Ron Paul: 7%, Other: 1.3%

Today, the remaining Republican candidates face off in Florida, campaigning for the 50 delegates of this winner-take-all state. While Ron Paul and Rick Santorum have been focusing their attentions elsewhere, the battle for Florida remains heated between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney.  The polls close today at 7pm ET. Check in with the Independent Voter Network tomorrow for a full report on the results and implications of the Florida primary. You can also find live updates on our Twitter feed: @I

Voter turnout in the United States is disturbingly low. In the 2008 presidential election, voter turnout was higher than it had been in a generation, but barely 60% of eligible voters bothered to cast a ballot. In non-presidential election years, the numbers are even worse, with over 60% of eligible voters opting not to vote. Given these dismal numbers, one would think that states across the country would seek to implement policies that would encourage participation in the electoral process. Ins