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The history of voting rights in the U.S. has been a long battle of disharmony and disenfranchisement since the country’s formation and although freedom and voting are frequently associated with one another in our current culture, restrictions to true freedom in this regard still remain unsettled, contentious, and often unperceived. While democracy was forming in the colonies, the Old World ideology that it was nothing short of mob rule was held strongly by many prominent colonists, thereby limi

Evan Falchuk / United Independent Party Month 4, September 2013 "The way to get started is to quit talking, and start doing." – Walt Disney In the fourth month of this diary of my independent campaign for Governor, things that were previously unclear have now come into sharper focus. Two candidates announced they would be running in 2014, and both are favorites for their respective Democratic and Republican party nominations.  On the Democratic side, there is Attorney General Martha Coakley,

Tatiana Grozetskaya // Shutterstock A study from the University of Texas-Austin, one of the most comprehensive on methane leakage from shale gas emissions to date, found that 99 percent of the greenhouse gas escaping from wells being prepared for production could be captured by state of the art equipment. The study’s findings were celebrated by environmentalists, but immediately criticized by two Cornell University scientists, Robert Howarth and Anthony Ingraffea, whose 2011 study found fracki

Capital building in Boston Mass. //  Shutterstock.com While Massachusetts is known to be one of the most independent states in the country, with 53 percent of its registered voters listed as unaffiliated, its campaign finance laws are some of the most skewed. The only two official political parties recognized by the Massachusetts government are the Republican and Democratic Party. The twenty-five other third "parties" are not technically considered political parties by the state; rather, they

The "Under God" Controversy "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." (1892) It sounds familiar to many of us, but it doesn't seem quite right.  Growing up, I had to recite the Pledge of Allegiance every day in school.  As a child, the phrase "Under God," which does not appear in the above quote, never even registered to me.  They were just words to be recited along with the rest.  This may be because I was

Demand, meet Supply Amidst some disenchantment with both major political parties, the chart above shows, when looking across the 50 states, the share of votes earned by candidates that were not either Democratic or Republican has fallen significantly for U.S. House of Representative elections since 2000. The State Data Lab resource (Votes Cast for House Election – Other), developed by Truth in Accounting, shows that states with relatively high shares of non-major party votes in 2000 also had s

Massively open online courses, or MOOCs, are typically dependent on outside investors to cover expenses. While MOOCs expand the education opportunities for hundreds of thousands world-wide, building a sustainable funding model has yet to be perfected. Leading open online courses are run through highly esteemed universities like Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, which can provide high quality information; but ultimately these services will need to be sustainably funded in order

Nonprofit VOTE examined the impact of nonprofit organizations on voter behavior within seven states in an August 2013 study. It found that those contacted by a nonprofit organization -- in regards to the election -- turned out at 74 percent while 68 percent of all registered voters turned out. The data from the study suggests that nonprofit organizations fight an uphill battle when trying to increase turnout since their target audience has a historically low propensity to vote. However, nonpro

Dear IVN Readers, While other outlets recycle the same old stories, IVN is proud to bring you important stories that aren’t covered anywhere else: like voter suppression in New Jersey, a revolutionary new privacy initiative introduced in California, or a Trans-Pacific Partnership that could change the way the world conducts trades. Check in this week as we bring you more original news by a growing network of independent-minded journalists and readers. - Shawn and the rest of the IVN Team Wh

Month 2, July 2013 In my campaign for Governor of Massachusetts, it’s been interesting to learn how many people think voters in our state are almost all Democrats. They’re nearly always surprised to learn that, in fact, a majority – almost 53 percent of voters – are “unenrolled” – independent voters who choose not to be tied to either Democrats or Republicans. As IVN reported last month, Massachusetts leads the pack nationwide of states with the highest percentage of independent voters. I can t