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HR 1: Bipartisan Support for Popular Political Reform Evaporates in Congress
HR 1: Bipartisan Support for Popular Political Reform Evaporates in Congress
Perhaps it is not surprising that Friday’s vote on HR1, the omnibus election reform bill, broke strictly along partisan lines...
13 Mar, 2019
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4 min read
Initiative Launched to Open Primaries to 3.5 Million Disenfranchised Floridians
Initiative Launched to Open Primaries to 3.5 Million Disenfranchised Floridians
All Voters Vote (AVV) launched an initiative to allow all voters access to taxpayer-funded primary elections in Florida. State law currently bars approximately 3.5 million registered voters from participating in what is often the most crucial stage of the election process because they refuse to register with a party. The group is submitting two petitions for review: BALLOT TITLE BALLOT SUMMARY BALLOT TITLE BALLOT SUMMARY AVV is proposing nonpartisan primaries similar to the primary electio
07 Mar, 2019
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2 min read
Ranked Choice Voting Finds Its Way to the Floor of the US House
Ranked Choice Voting Finds Its Way to the Floor of the US House
WASHINGTON, DC - The sweeping electoral reform measures encompassed in H.R. 1 expanded even further with the addition of a ranked choice voting clause. Backers of the bill recently added language proposed by U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md) who represents the district that includes FairVote’s national offices. The common sense change to the bill aims to help states and cities run ranked choice voting elections all the more efficiently by requiring funding for new voting systems to make use of RCV-
03 Mar, 2019
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1 min read
Unrig the System: "The Viability of the American Experiment is At Stake"
Unrig the System: "The Viability of the American Experiment is At Stake"
"If we don't band together to unrig the system, there will not be a country passed to our grandchildren and great-grandchildren..." - Josh Silver, Director of RepresentUs The largest gathering of nonpartisan activists, organizations, reformers is happening in Nashville, Tennessee on March 29-31: the Unrig The System Summit, hosted by RepresentUs and sponsored by many more. It follows a historic year in political and election reform, and the conversations that will happen at the event will large
27 Feb, 2019
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4 min read
Debunking the “Spoiler Myth”: Lessons from a Competitive Kansas Independent to Howard Schultz
Debunking the “Spoiler Myth”: Lessons from a Competitive Kansas Independent to Howard Schultz
Since Howard Schultz announced that he was considering running for president as an independent, there has been much speculation about how his potential entry might affect the race in 2020. Specifically, howls of Schultz “spoiling” the race have been heard from Democratic candidates and operatives. The attacks on Schultz are eerily reminiscent of the recent attacks on Greg Orman during his 2018 run for Kansas governor as an independent. Orman’s race could provide important insight into how third
25 Feb, 2019
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6 min read
Debunking the "Spoiler Myth": Lessons from a Competitive Kansas Independent to Howard Schultz
Debunking the "Spoiler Myth": Lessons from a Competitive Kansas Independent to Howard Schultz
Since Howard Schultz announced that he was considering running for president as an independent, there has been much speculation about how his potential entry might affect the race in 2020. Specifically, howls of Schultz “spoiling” the race have been heard from Democratic candidates and operatives. The attacks on Schultz are eerily reminiscent of the recent attacks on Greg Orman during his 2018 run for Kansas governor as an independent. Orman’s race could provide important insight into how third
25 Feb, 2019
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6 min read
OPINION: Boycott Iowa and Its Fraudulent Caucus
OPINION: Boycott Iowa and Its Fraudulent Caucus
The lead story in Wednesday’s Washington Post, was written by two reporters telling us what might happen to Democratic candidates running for president, in a race that doesn’t end until November 3, 2020 — a mere 615 days away. You might say I’m a political junkie, but I’m not reading speculative junk by two reporters about a subject I may know more about than they — if being in and around politics for 53 years counts for anything. As I’ve written, let the Democratic candidates run, and let med
25 Feb, 2019
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4 min read
American History Is Black History: Overcoming The Politics of Division
American History Is Black History: Overcoming The Politics of Division
“The establishment of democracy on the American continent was scarcely as radical a break with the (European) past as was the necessity, which Americans faced, of broadening the concept to include black men.”-  James Baldwin, "Notes of a Native Son" From the founding onward, race has been the American fulcrum, the nexus by which the country is united or divided, with the African American community pivotal in the long struggle for a broad-based inclusive American democracy. Race and place perpet
22 Feb, 2019
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6 min read
OPINION: Unity is for Losers, and the Party Out of Power Doesn't Want It
OPINION: Unity is for Losers, and the Party Out of Power Doesn't Want It
As another government shutdown loomed over the border wall, many people wondered if the newfound calls for unity in President Trump's State of the Union message had the potential for any bipartisan cooperation. Though Congress managed to pass a bill to avoid the shutdown, short-term results look distinctly unsatisfying. Trump signed a border compromise bill that fell far short of his goals for funding and then declared a controversial national emergency to continue what Congress wouldn't suppor
18 Feb, 2019
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6 min read
OPINION: Unity is for Losers, and the Party Out of Power Doesn’t Want It
OPINION: Unity is for Losers, and the Party Out of Power Doesn’t Want It
As another government shutdown loomed over the border wall, many people wondered if the newfound calls for unity in President Trump's State of the Union message had the potential for any bipartisan cooperation. Though Congress managed to pass a bill to avoid the shutdown, short-term results look distinctly unsatisfying. Trump signed a border compromise bill that fell far short of his goals for funding and then declared a controversial national emergency to continue what Congress wouldn't suppor
18 Feb, 2019
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6 min read