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I am concerned with the July 24, 2018 op-ed titled, Virginia Republican: “Ranked Choice Voting Most Superior Voting Method in US.”  While the statements are true, what is missing speaks volumes and illustrates why IRV/RCV may not be in the best interests of independent voters. The op-ed starts with a quote asserting “Ranked Choice Voting, or Instant Run-Off Voting, is by far the most superior method of electing representatives available in the United States.” That is currently true. What it doe

BOULDER, COLO. - Nick Thomas, who has an opportunity to be Colorado's first independent congressman, has officially qualified for the November ballot in the state's 2nd Congressional District. Thomas submitted over 1,300 signatures of the 800 required, and the secretary of state has certified him for the ballot. The 2nd Congressional District is currently represented by US Rep. Jared Polis. Polis is the Democratic nominee in the 2018 gubernatorial race, leaving his US House seat open for someon

It started with a speech on Sunday, in which Iranian president Hassan Rouhani sent a warning to the United States about pursuing a foreign policy hostile toward his government in Tehran, but to Donald Trump, Iranian president Rouhani was the one in need of a warning, and of course America's 21st century television game show host president had to make his implicit threat far more dramatic. While addressing a gathering of Iranian diplomats Sunday, Rouhani issued this warning for the United States

FLORIDA - In March 2017, I was asked to assume leadership of the grassroots organization Florida Fair and Open Primaries (FFAOP). The organization was created by Duane Pike, of Tampa, FL in 2012 under another name, but the mission was always to advocate for Florida’s adoption of a top-two open primary. At that time, a couple of events intersected that provided a prime opportunity to build on what Duane had created. I was introduced to John Opdycke, president of Open Primaries, at Independent Vo

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) is calling for the censure of President Trump following his Helsinki News Conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Peters' office released a statement following the summit that read in part, "President Trump’s disgraceful remarks in Helsinki betray our American democracy in the face of its most dangerous adversary. His alarming dismissal of the American intelligence community’s unanimous assessment that Russia waged cyberwarfare on Am

A thrilling victory by a young insurgent candidate, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, against a 20-year incumbent and party boss, US Rep. Joseph Crowley, in the June 26 New York primary seems to be reverberating over state and national politics. Pundits are posing the question of whether a national anti-establishment wave within Democratic Party politics is in the making. Many activists -- myself among them -- hope so, but don't shout too soon. Remember how in 2004 a young upstart, newly-elected senat

DENVER, CO. - The state of Colorado's first open primary since the reform passed in 2016 was a massive success for independent voters and the state's county clerks. The Associated Press reports that of the 293,153 ballots cast by unaffiliated voters in the primary this year, only 2.4 percent of the ballots were rejected as invalid because the voter cast one for both the Republican and the Democratic Party's primary. The result stunned state officials, who expected a higher number of rejected b

I miss Anthony Kennedy already. Other people have written eloquently about Kennedy’s contributions to the Supreme Court. After the retirement of Sandra Day O’Connor (whom I miss, too), Kennedy became the swing vote in case after case. When a seminal case was argued before the high court, Kennedy was the justice who had to be persuaded. When a 5-4 decision came down, Kennedy was usually that crucial fifth vote. Sometimes he voted with the more liberal wing of the court; sometimes he voted with t

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has garnered a swell of well-deserved attention after the 28-year-old socialist democrat's stunning upset defeat of a ten-term incumbent (US Rep. Joe Crowley) in the closed Democratic primary for NY-14. The senior congressman chairs the House Democratic Caucus and was considered a strong contender to replace Nancy Pelosi's position within the party. Portraying Crowley as the too-cozy, career politician that he is, Ocasio-Cortez rode the wave of Bernie Sanders-style demo

I am writing from a spot nestled in the woods in Washington County in rural New York, listening to the chatter of the morning birds and looking forward to a walk along the Battenkill River later today. It is summer vacation and that means summer reading, somehow especially delicious done by the sea, or in a hammock, or a shady spot under a tree. How did reading become so identified with the summer lexicon? In a 2012 Boston Globe article, author Craig Fehrman posits that the idea of summer readi