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NOTE: This op-ed was submitted to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Worcester Telegram, Commonwealth Magazine, and the Montreal Gazette (a slightly expanded version tied to Jackie’s debut with the Royals in ‘46). Too bad, really. It would have been nice for readers of any of the above publications to know that the greatest athlete and perhaps the most important African-American in our history, would have been 100 today. Rejections are irritating, but I’m reminded of how angry the late Senator E

There were two elections on November 6. The first was a national referendum on President Trump that saw Democrats win a majority in the House of Representatives after nearly a decade out of power, while Republicans added seats in the Senate. The national election results continue to be the subject of endless punditry as races in Arizona were reversed and returns in Florida were subject to mandatory recount. It was a contest between two parties – Team Red and Team Blue – that will end up costin

ATHENS, Ga. - Libertarian candidate J. Smythe DuVal, who ran for secretary of state in the 2018 midterms, announced Monday his endorsement for one of his general election rivals,  Democrat John Barrow, in the December runoff election. DuVal came in third in the race, but since neither Barrow nor Republican Brad Raffensperger were able to get over 50% of the vote, a runoff election is required under state law. DuVal says he and Barrow share a vision for Georgia elections that means completely t

This is my post-election column where I analyze the impact of independent voters who came out in force last Tuesday, almost 34 million of us. Huge. The stats and takeaways are at the end of this column, dear reader, so if you prefer to cut to that chase, scroll on down. Suffice it to say that independents are swinging between cycles of disruption and cycles of stabilization, all the while searching for systemic changes that will take us to new ground. Independent rather than partisan ground. Th

Washington, D.C. - The Republicans have held on to the Senate by grabbing some center-left leaning districts, while Democrats scooped up the 218 they needed to topple GOP control of the House of Representatives. Those numbers weren't necessarily surprising for many Americans. But the details surrounding this election are fascinating. Candidates broke barriers across gender (more than 100 women were elected), race, religion and sexual identity. And inside those states and districts, unique situa

SAN DIEGO, CALIF. - The 2018 midterms are coming to a close. Control of Congress is at stake. The future direction of US policy on a range of issues is at stake. In many states, the future of the electoral and political process is at stake as well. The media is obsessed with the red versus blue battle across the country in a nationalized narrative that takes away from the issues and values important to voters. They turn to the pollsters to predict a red wave or a blue wave. Yet what if we are

San Diego, Calif.- Oprah Winfrey is a registered independent, wait... what? The cultural icon said she has "earned the right to think for myself and to vote for myself." At a rally in Marietta, Georgia for gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, Oprah emphasized the importance of getting out to vote over any partisan or policy message. Independents across the country let out a collective, hell yes! Oprah The Independent Winfrey announced why she is not beholden to the two-party dysfunction

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - Another voter rights lawsuit is in motion in Georgia, this one explicitly targeting mail-in ballots. On Tuesday, the Coalition for Good Governance filed suit against secretary of state, and gubernatorial candidate, Brian Kemp, as well as each member of the state's Board of Elections and each member of Gwinnett County's board of elections. The group of five voters suing the state say that an unacceptable volume of mail ballots have been deemed invalid due to minuscule discrep

Ted Metz, Georgia Libertarian Candidate for Governor: "If a vote for the Libertarian is really a vote for the Democrat, and some people would argue it's really a vote for the Republican, then that must mean a libertarian vote is worth three votes!" During an exclusive IVN interview with Ted Metz, the Libertarian Party candidate for Governor in Georgia, Ted talked ballot access and voting rights, as well as some of the issues in the Georgia race. Here's what he had to say: On Libertarianism

ATLANTA, GA. - Brian Kemp, the Peach State's Republican candidate for governor, also happens to be Georgia's current secretary of state, responsible for overseeing elections and voter registration in Georgia. Former state Rep. Stacey Abrams, the Democratic candidate for governor, along with voting rights advocates in the state, allege that Kemp has carried out a systematic campaign of deliberate voter suppression tactics by purging voter rolls and putting 53,000 voter registrations on hold. Ke