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Ballot Access in Historical Context Over the last several decades, the percentage of Americans who self-identify as independents has climbed to above 40 percent while attachment to the Democratic and Republican parties has declined. And in recent months, broad dissatisfaction with the presidential nominees of both parties has caused the public to look to third party and independent options to find candidates who better represent their views. Yet despite this shift in support, third party and i

With the first presidential debate scheduled for Monday, September 26, debate preparations have begun for each of the candidates. For the sake of this article, I’m going to assume that Governor Johnson isn’t going to be included in the first debate as he is currently polling at between 10 and 11% and needs to get to 15% in order to be included.As the moderators are determined and the venues and dates locked down, it’s easy to speculate about what the key issues will be during the debates. After

Several California voter registrars confirmed last week what the Independent Voter Project warned Secretary of State Alex Padilla about well ahead of the 2016 primary elections. As a result of insufficient voter education programs and ballot design problems there was mass voter confusion during the primary, resulting in -- among other things -- nearly a quarter of a million Senate votes being thrown out. Nearly a Quarter of a Million Senate Votes Tossed The report, titled “Ballot Design Issue

There's an axiom in polling that goes back to 1936. If you expect to win the presidency, you'd better be polling well as September begins. Nobody really 'likes' to admit that polling is as good of a science as it is; it tends to undermine our sense of control and autonomy -- that less than 1,000 people polled can represent the population of 146 million or so voters in the United States. But that's the nature of statistics -- as well as the numbers being criticized for any number of reasons. B

Among many good-government types, there’s a reliable refrain: We need more moderates in Washington! Such sentiments are no doubt well intended. It’s easy to see where they come from. The division and contentiousness in Washington is dysfunctional by any standard. Nonetheless, the yearning for more moderates is misplaced. Moderately Helpful We don’t dream of being moderately in love. We don’t search for a surgeon who’s moderately effective. Why should we look to moderates as a panacea for ou

PORTLAND, ORE. - In a major victory for the California-based Independent Voter Protect (authors of California’s 2010 groundbreaking nonpartisan primary system), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals echoed a lower court's decision Monday to uphold Hawaii's open primary system. The court ruled that the Democratic Party of Hawaii failed to provide sufficient evidence that state election law severely violates its First Amendment right to association. The Democratic Party of Hawaii (DPH) brought a fac

© 2016 by reclaimtheamericandream.org. The article was written by Hedrick Smith, executive editor of reclaimtheamericandream.org. Gerrymandering Undermines Our Democracy In a prophetic column in early 2010, Republican strategist and political guru Karl Rove asserted: “He who controls redistricting can control Congress,” and that is just what Rove had his eye on doing for the GOP. The cunning manipulation of political district lines by Democrats or Republicans to guarantee their own election

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42gy1Dz4sfI&feature=youtu.be&t=51s Independent Voter Project attorney Chad Peace went on RT America Friday to discuss what independent and independent-minded voters can do to make their voices heard in the current two-party system. Peace most recently authored an amicus curiae brief in the lawsuit filed by Level the Playing Field and Peter Ackerman against the FEC, challenging current presidential debate entry rules established by the Commission on Presidential D

A majority of Americans believe that there is too much money in politics, including money spent by "outside groups" – those not affiliated with a campaign – in the run-up to elections. In responding to these concerns, presidential candidates Clinton, Trump, Johnson, and Stein have offered different ideas about how to reform the country's campaign finance system. The concern over outside spending has arisen in the wake of the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling in 2010, which allows groups an

SAN DIEGO, CALIF.- Ray Lutz and a group of supporters affiliated with Citizens Oversight held a news conference at the County Registrar’s office in San Diego Wednesday claiming that the 2016 June Primary election was “rigged.” In a ruling last week, Superior Court judge Joel Wohlfeil ruled that San Diego County Registrar Michael Vu had not counted the election ballots properly. In his ruling Judge Wohlfeil stated, “Section 15360 requires election officials to include vote-by-mail ballots cast a