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Our American election system is broken in no small part thanks to the primary election system. The Republican and Democratic parties have worked hand-in-hand for over a century to make ‘their’ party primaries the centerpiece of the entire electoral process. In an age where 43 percent of Americans consider themselves politically independent of the two major parties, the twisted state-sanctioned closed primary election process prevalent in the majority of U.S. elections frequently leads to elect

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Audit the Fed, a cause championed by former U.S. Representative Ron Paul (R-Texas), was picked up by Paul's son, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), early on in his political career. For some voters, including more libertarian-minded voters, auditing the central bank is as important of an issue as raising the minimum wage is for progressives. Now that Sen. Paul has entered the 2016 presidential election, the issue may get a little more attention. The goal behind auditing the Fe

On Wednesday, April 8, the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling in the case, Balsam v. Guadagno (Secretary of the State of New Jersey). The court affirmed a lower district court’s decision to dismiss a constitutional challenge to New Jersey’s closed partisan primary, holding that New Jersey may limit those who have a fundamental right to cast a vote in the primary election to party members. Appellants argued that New Jersey’s closed primary elections, in a state where 48 percent

Generally, most Americans like to think of our elections as a public process, designed to elect candidates that best represent the people of a given district. Right? Then why is it we spend years listening to political pontifications about which candidate will ‘win over’ the hyper-partisan faithful few that vote in presidential primary elections? It’s because in state-after-state, both parties have worked for more than a century to subvert the influence of those independent-minded voters who

Three U.S. senators joined forces in March on a bill that would legalize medical marijuana under federal law. The CARERS Act, proposed by Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), would also change marijuana from a Schedule I substance to a Schedule II substance under the Controlled Substances Act. Though some experts say the bill probably won't pass, it could be successful in making a statement. "The bipartisan senators that are coming to the bill are p

South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard signed a bill dramatically changing the laws governing ballot access for Independent candidates just months after an Independent took 17% of the vote in a statewide election. The bill, Senate Bill 69, an act to revise certain provisions regarding elections and election petitions, specifically addresses how many signatures an Independent candidate must collect to get on the ballot, and who is allowed to sign the candidate's petition. The bill prevents any r

On Sunday, March 22, the Independent Voter Project, represented by Chad Peace, discussed the current lawsuit before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the constitutionality of the closed primary system in New Jersey during the political segment, Politically Speaking, on NBC7 in San Diego."When the state gets involved in conducting an election process, it should serve the people, and it should be a system that is designed to get representatives that best represent everyone," Peace say

WASHINGTON, DC -- The FCC's net neutrality ruling has many politicians up in arms. Congressional Republicans launched a "fact-finding" mission on Tuesday about the ruling, and potential GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush called the ruling "crazy." But these positions may be motivated more by politics than by concern about the new rules, according to Tim Karr, senior director of strategy at Free Press. "There is nothing in the new rules themselves that are cause for concern," Karr said. "In o

The number of political independents has certainly ballooned. Indeed, the dissatisfaction with political parties has reached unprecedented levels, and it is not uncommon to read jeremiads decrying the abuses of political parties or to come across comments that question their necessity altogether. Despite the understandable level of frustration with today's partisan wrangling, political parties do serve a necessary function in politics. Instead of perpetually cataloging their misdeeds and ventin

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- Oral argument in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals was heard Tuesday morning in the case, Balsam, et al. v. Guadagno (New Jersey Secretary of State). The Independent Voter Project represented the plaintiffs in the suit, which was originally filed in the district court in Newark, New Jersey on March 5, 2014. The suit challenges the constitutionality of New Jersey’s election system, which gives political parties and their members exclusive access to an integral stage of the