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It seems that in every cycle there is debate about which states should hold the first presidential primary elections. Some state always seems to try to jump ahead of Iowa and New Hampshire. Since 1972, the Iowa Caucuses have been first in the nation and New Hampshire has been the first "primary" since 1920. There, of course, have been states that have attempted to circumvent Iowa and New Hampshire, claiming that they don't truly represent America as they are small states with seemingly narrow

On January 16, Gene Berardelli wrote an article for IVN titled, "Hard evidence supports the need for Voter ID laws." While this is a common argument among proponents of voter ID, the existence of hard evidence necessitating the need for voter ID is a questionable proposition at best. In big letters, Mr. Berardelli’s article screams, “Voter Fraud is Real.” Voter fraud is real –– much like getting struck by lightning is, or winning the Powerball Lottery, or getting killed by a falling icicle, or

In the Buckeye State, Republican Governor John Kasich looks ahead to re-election in 2014 as his name gets circulated as a potential presidential candidate in 2016. Democrats are lining up behind First County Executive of Cuyahoga County, Ed FitzGerald, while Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune has also entered the primary. Previously, the Ohio Legislature passed and Governor Kasich signed a law that would have required minor party candidates to accumulate more than 20,000 signatures by F

As it was pointed out in a recent federal court decision in Hawaii, which upheld the state's open primary system, the court cannot base its decision on the assumption that something is happening. There must be clear evidence that the burden on the state, an organization, or a person is real. In the case of the Hawaii decision, the Democratic Party of Hawaii could not present sufficient evidence that its First Amendment right of association was severely burdened by non-members being able to parti

Last week, both Illinois and Hawaii passed same-sex marriage making them the 15th and 16th states to do so. Overall, 2013 has been quite a year for the LGBT community. These last two states just seem to put the icing on the proverbial cake. It all comes on the heals of the 2012 election where voters in three states (Maine, Maryland, and Washington) approved same-sex marriage and rejected a ban on it in the state of Minnesota. So, what has transpired during the year? Rhode Island, Delaware, Mi

The 2016 presidential election may be three years away, but Iowa is already abuzz with potential Republican candidates. As soon as the dust settled from Mitt Romney’s failed bid to unseat President Barack Obama, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, and Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin all began making regular pilgrimages to the Hawkeye state. Iowa, the first battleground state of the presidential primary, will hold their

Credit: Wikimedia Commons Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has been a controversial topic lately, and it's little wonder why. Although fracking is an effective way of procuring natural gas, environmentalists are concerned about how the practice affects the planet. Fracking refers to the practice by which workers use a mix of water, sand, and chemicals to blast open shale rock to release natural gas. While fracking is very profitable and has dramatically increased U.S. natural gas production

by Bob Warhover A fracking rig in Bradford County, Pennsylvania // Credit: Appvoices.org Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking” as it has come to be known in the popular lexicon, is the process of drilling and injecting fluid into the ground at a high pressure in order to fracture shale rocks so they release the natural gas or oil inside. Despite the relatively recent emergence of the term, fracking has been successfully utilized in commercial operations since the late 1940s. However, the proces

The rallying cry in the 1770’s was “Taxation Without Representation”.  They fought a war over it and THEY won.  But we are still losing. In Pennsylvania, many counties have a bizarre system to guarantee representation of a minority party.  The counties have 3 commissioners and have written the laws to stipulate all 3 cannot be from the same political party.  On the face of it that is fine and good. However, in practice, this needs some tuning.  The reality is voters can only vote for 2 commiss

Independent Pennsylvanians,  part of the national IndependentVoting.org network, will be on hand to testify at the upcoming public hearing of President Obama’s Commission on Election Administration. The hearings will  take place in Philadelphia, on  September 4th, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, rooms 102 and 103. The 10-member commission is tasked with presenting recommendations to the president about how to “improve the voting experience.” The Commission has already held public hearing