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Editor's Note: This op-ed originally published on The Fulcrum. It was written by Henry Murray, a student at Tufts University from Lawrenceville, New Jersey. He is entering his junior year and studying international relations. The piece was republished on IVN with permission from the publisher. As a college student who, like many of my classmates, is frustrated with politics in America, I’d like to reimagine our congressional elections. Our country’s two major political parties have become incre

The New York Libertarian (LPNY) and Green Parties (GPNY) have petitioned the US Supreme Court to hear their case challenging state election rules designed by the major parties to knock third parties off the ballot. The scheme was so successful that every third party that doesn't nominate major party candidates lost their ballot access status statewide. Toward the end of 2019, Governor Andrew Cuomo and state officials expanded the authority of a public campaign financing commission to rewrite el

Editor's Note: This article originally published on The Fulcrum and has been republished on IVN with permission from the publisher. Four years ago, when the nation headed to the polls in the middle of Donald Trump’s divisive term as president, half of eligible voters cast a ballot. Last week, preliminary data shows overall turnout was down a few percentage points. But some states saw an increase in voter participation. According to preliminary data collected by the U.S. Election Project, three

Editor's Note: This article originally published on The Fulcrum and has been republished on IVN with permission from the publisher. ‍ The Voting Rights Lab is tracking 2,185 bills so far this session, with 579 bills that tighten voter access or election administration and 1,041 bills that expand the rules. The rest are neutral or mixed or unclear in their impact. Georgia is processing thousands of challenges to voter registrations following the enactment of a new law authorizing such challeng

Disenchanted and disenfranchised Republicans, Democrats, and independents are joining forces to take on the two-party duopoly with a new political party build on inclusion, accountability, and better elections. The Forward Party, Serve America Movement, and Renew America Movement recently worked in parallel to strengthen the US democratic process. However, things are about to change. The three organizations announced Thursday that they are merging under one banner: Forward. “Political extremis

It doesn’t seem like there is much these days that can unite Republicans and Democrats. However, one thing both parties have consistently agreed on is that nothing should threaten their grip on power. The current electoral process is designed to serve the interests of the dominant two parties and their members. If there is a reform that threatens to upset the apple cart, it will encounter resistance from those who have the most to lose from a fairer, more equitable process. This will include l

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in The Fulcrum and has been republished with permission from the publisher. ‍ While much of the country's election reform legislation has been rife with partisanship, Vermont is bucking that trend. Republican Gov. Phil Scott signed into law on Monday a measure that will automatically send Vermont's 495,000 registered voters a mail-in ballot ahead of statewide general elections. The General Assembly approved the legislation on a bipartisan basis

New Jersey has become the first state to back away from a pandemic-driven switch to conducting elections almost entirely remotely.

Editor's Note: This article originally published on The Fulcrum and has been republished on IVN with permission form the publisher. ‍ New Jersey has become the first state to back away from a pandemic-driven switch to conducting elections almost entirely remotely. Projections of declining Covid-19 cases by the spring prompted Gov. Phil Murphy's announcement Monday that the state's longtime reliance on in-person voting will resume for school board elections in April, municipal contests in May

What is the biggest highlight of a presidential election? Is it the ideas or proposals presented by the candidates? Is it how the candidates appealed to the most voters possible by presenting thoughtful, comprehensive solutions to the nation’s biggest problems? Unfortunately, it’s neither of those. Instead, the biggest highlight of any presidential election in modern history is the division between the dominant two parties -- the hyperbolic rhetoric both sides use in the zero-sum contest to ge