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The 2016 election cycle was an exceptionally rough one for voters and candidates alike. The divisive rhetoric and lack of support for the major-party candidates revealed a failure in our system to engage all voters and demographics alike. Last year, around 28 million independent voters registered nationwide to participate in the electoral process, becoming the fastest growing voting demographic in the United States. Yet, many states such as Massachusetts and New Jersey disenfranchised independ

The Arizona State Legislature passed HB 2302 by a vote of 34-24 in February. The bill adds two statutes to the Arizona constitution making it illegal for presidential electors to vote against their party’s candidate. An elector would be automatically ineligible to serve should they choose to put conscience above party loyalty. Once the elector's intentions are revealed, the state party chair would appoint a person to replace him or her, who would then cast the electoral vote. For those followi

The U.S. Supreme Court might be headed toward a major decision regarding partisan open primary elections. In two court cases, the Republican and Democratic parties, respectively, have challenged the constitutionality of partisan open primaries. The Republican case was brought in Montana, where the GOP controls the legislature. The Democratic case is in Hawaii, where the Democratic Party controls the legislature. In both cases, the parties argue that allowing nonpartisan voters to participate in

The Libertarian Party continues to bask in a historic election year, gaining party status and ballot access in more states in 2016. The general platform of fiscal conservatism and social liberalism/tolerance/openness is striking a cord with many voters looking for alternatives outside the two-party political structure. In some states, like Iowa, the local Libertarian Party is celebrating major party status. However, other Libertarian Parties must fight Republican and Democratic forces to gain t

Milo Yiannopoulos, the flamboyant, former Breitbart editor and spokesperson for the Alt-Right, was confronted with an attack coming from the social conservatives on his own "right" side of the political isle. Of course, as the news hit -- the left piled on. Milo was scheduled to speak at CPAC (Conservative Political Action Committee), the annual political conference attended by conservative activists, when comments he made regarding pedophilia were promoted heavily by groups associated with #Ne

The 2016 election was the gift that keeps on giving for the Libertarian Party. The Libertarian Party of Iowa (LPIA) will soon officially be given major party status, allowing libertarians to be on the ballot in future state elections, and greater exposure for its candidates. "We plan to have a record number of candidates in 2018," said LPIA Chair Keith Laube in an interview for IVN. "There were a record 25 Libertarian candidates on the ballot in Iowa in 2016. We have been building a base of Lib

When political leaders discuss tax reform, they often refer to "progressive taxation." What does this term mean? What pros and cons does this type of tax structure offer today? Toward a Concept of Income Fairness When the United States government first implemented a system of taxation, economists soon observed a uniform tax rate would fall more heavily upon poor people than wealthy ones. Why? Just consider this example. If one household earns $100,000 and another earns $30,000 and both pay a

#BoycottBudwiser. #DeleteUber. #BoycottNetflix. #BoycottStarbucks. #BOYCOTT. These are just a few of the latest hashtag campaigns aimed at boycotting businesses in retaliation for uncouth political entanglements. The Twitter protests, all of which have formed in the last few months, stem from social media circles on the political left and right. As “Hashtag Armies” on both sides of the political spectrum grow stronger, no one’s willing to stop and ask, is anything really being accomplished? T

After the citizens of Maine voted ‘yes’ to establish Ranked Choice Voting in the state, the legislature is now working on a bill that would introduce statewide open primaries to the electoral process. During the 2016 election, Maine held caucuses instead of primary elections, in which around 48,000 Democrats and 19,000 Republicans participated across the state. On previous presidential elections, voters participated 2.5 times more than in 2016, which led the legislators to push for a system tha

This was just one of the compelling statistics discussed on Wednesday, February 1 at the very first forum hosted by the newly-founded California Latino Economic Institute (CLEI), which is a collaboration between the California Legislative Latino Caucus and the California Business Roundtable. The event kicked off in Sacramento’s historic Sutter Club and featured an impressive program including Secretary of State Alex Padilla, Assemblymember Raul Bocanegra, former Speaker John Perez, former Mayor