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Two big announcements came out of independent Evan Falchuk's camp on Monday: he became the first gubernatorial candidate to officially qualify for the November ballot in Massachusetts, and he plans to spend at least $360,000 on his initial TV and radio advertisement campaign. While only 10,000 signatures are required to be submitted before the August 26 deadline, Falchuk, who founded the United Independent Party, said his team collected more than 17,000 signatures -- all without the help of pai

The partisan fracturing of American politics is a topic of frequent debate and discussion. Politics is becoming increasingly personal, and antipathy between ideologies is on the rise. As activists and politicos work to solve this crisis in Washington and on Main Street, Americans may find inspiration in the oft maligned little brother of U.S. sports: the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team. In America, athletic success on the international stage has become a reflection of our status as a global sup

Is there a way to end gridlock forever? What about gerrymandering, closed primaries, and high-barrier requirements for outsiders? Even then, what about the complete dependence candidates have on a tiny group of funders that have corrupted our government? When considered all together, we are back to a time of taxation without any meaningful representation. A conclusion that a recent Princeton study resoundingly confirms. A wave of bold upstart independents from across the U.S. believe there is

John Tierney, who narrowly held his Massachusetts congressional seat in 2012, is facing another difficult challenge in the 2014 election season. Tierney, a Democrat, has represented the 6th Congressional District in northeastern Massachusetts since 1997. In his last re-election, he won by less than 5,000 votes in a bitter fight with Republican opponent Richard Tisei. According to CNN, MA-6 is one of the top 5 races to watch in the 2014 election cycle. So, what makes the race such an interesting

On May 20, I passed the 150-mile mark of my 1,000-mile walking tour of Massachusetts. In these first few weeks, I have had over a hundred conversations and personally collected even more signatures for getting on the ballot. Just over a tenth of the way in, I can now say without any doubt that this is how representative democracy was meant to be.I know I will not raise as much money as major party candidates. Yet, I will be more than satisfied in raising just enough to keep my campaign going, be

"Today, I and many other citizens of Pennsylvania will be denied the right to vote," independent Pennsylvania voter Tom Stack wrote in a letter to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "It is not because we are in prison or non-citizens. It is because we are registered Independents or not affiliated with a political party." The Pennsylvania primaries will be held on Tuesday, May 20, along with the 2014 primary elections in Oregon, Kentucky, Idaho, Georgia, and Arkansas. Four out of the six states holdin

In the Massachusetts 2013 special election, voter turnout statewide marked a record low at only 27 percent. While special elections typically struggle to attract voter interest, last year was particularly bad. The state also saw declining turnout numbers in the last major national election as well. State lawmakers decided to address this lagging participation by passing a series of campaign reforms last week. These measures are intended to boost turnout and make democracy more accessible to Bay

On May 4, Massachusetts independent candidate for U.S. Senate, Bruce Skarin, kicked off his campaign and 1,000-mile #Walk4Democracy with a talk titled, “Citizenship in a Republic.” The same title as a speech that President Theodore Roosevelt gave at the Sorbonne in Paris, France in 1910. Roosevelt's speech is most known for the quote about “the man in the arena.” A homage to those that strive to “do the deeds.” Bruce’s speech may eventually be known for the reminder that Roosevelt was not talki

The way we elect the president and vice president in the U.S. is quite unique compared to the way we elect every other elected office. We don't elect them directly. Instead, we vote for electors who then cast votes for a presidential ticket. Electors from each state are supposed to cast their votes for whichever candidate won that state's popular vote -- "winner takes all."  However, every once in awhile there is a rogue elector who casts a different vote as "winner takes all" is not required b

The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense. – Thomas Edison To win a political race, it’s not enough to be right about the issues. You’ve got to be able to mobilize a coalition of people who will support you. Without that, you’re just another person with good ideas. As we move into May of election year, our hard work is paying real dividends in my independent race for Governor of Massachusetts.On April 2, I w