Search query: pennsylvania

How It Really Works: Does Your Vote Even Matter?
How It Really Works: Does Your Vote Even Matter?
Imagine showing up to vote in November, proud that you are doing your civic duty, only to learn that the real contest happened six months ago without you. The winner was decided in a low-turnout primary while you were busy living your life. This is not a conspiracy. It is how the system was built.
10 Sep, 2025
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12 min read
Retired Attorney Takes Voting Rights Case All the Way to the Supreme Court -- By Himself
Retired Attorney Takes Voting Rights Case All the Way to the Supreme Court -- By Himself
The next big voting rights case the Supreme Court of the United States could consider wasn’t filed by the ACLU, the League of Women Voters, Common Cause, or another household name when it comes to voter rights. 
09 Sep, 2025
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5 min read
Who’s Running for Governor of California in 2026?
Who’s Running for Governor of California in 2026?
California voters are lucky. In 2026, when they choose their next governor, they will do so under a system that ensures no spoilers, no wasted votes, and a guaranteed majority winner. Thanks to the state’s nonpartisan top two primary, every candidate appears on the same ballot, and the top two finishers advance to November. No matter how crowded the field, Californians always end up with a winner who has earned a majority of the votes.
26 Aug, 2025
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10 min read
Hey New York Times, Your Party Voter Registration Story is Pretty Bad
Hey New York Times, Your Party Voter Registration Story is Pretty Bad
The press has a problem with independent voters. Specifically, the historic growth seen in independent voter registration that is making it more difficult to frame the electorate as divided between th ...
20 Aug, 2025
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6 min read
Hate Gerrymandering? Let’s Start Voting in Primaries
Hate Gerrymandering? Let’s Start Voting in Primaries
Responding to pressure from President Trump, Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the Republican-controlled legislature are moving forward with a plan to redraw their district lines in advance of the 2026 midterms. Democrats are contemplating how to fight back and blunt any gains the GOP makes in Texas by conducting their own gerrymanders in New York, Illinois, and California.  
07 Aug, 2025
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4 min read
Americans Want Congress to Stop Playing the Market — So Why Won’t Lawmakers Listen?
Americans Want Congress to Stop Playing the Market — So Why Won’t Lawmakers Listen?
Americans have spoken, again and again — and the message is crystal clear: members of Congress should not be allowed to trade stocks while in office. Yet, despite bipartisan legislative proposals and national scrutiny, Congress continues to stall.
05 Aug, 2025
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3 min read
Michael Smerconish Leads Lawsuit Against Both Political Parties
Michael Smerconish Leads Lawsuit Against Both Political Parties
CNN host Michael Smerconish is a Pennsylvania voter who is denied access to taxpayer-funded primaries because he is a registered non-party affiliate (independent). He is also one of the plaintiffs in a new lawsuit challenging his state’s use of closed primaries. 
22 Jul, 2025
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1 min read
Taxed But Silenced: Pennsylvania Independents Sue for Right to Vote
Taxed But Silenced: Pennsylvania Independents Sue for Right to Vote
Four independent voters, including well-known journalist Michael Smerconish and political reform advocate David Thornburgh, are suing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, arguing that its closed primary system violates their constitutional rights under the state’s Free and Equal Elections Clause.
15 Jul, 2025
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3 min read
Oregon Activist Sues over Closed Primaries: 'I Shouldn't Have to Join a Party to Have a Voice'
Oregon Activist Sues over Closed Primaries: 'I Shouldn't Have to Join a Party to Have a Voice'
A new lawsuit filed in Oregon challenges the constitutionality of the state’s closed primary system, which denies the state’s largest registered voting bloc – independent voters – access to taxpayer-funded primary elections. The suit alleges Oregon is denying the voters equal voting rights
01 Jul, 2025
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3 min read
The Price of Our Divisions: Rage, Rhetoric, and Political Violence in America
The Price of Our Divisions: Rage, Rhetoric, and Political Violence in America
The United States is facing a disturbing resurgence of politically motivated violence, targeted attacks not just on individuals, but on the democratic fabric of the nation itself. Over the past several years, elected officials, public servants, and civilians have been stalked, firebombed, shot, and killed, sometimes in their homes, sometimes in broad daylight, often because of who they are, what they believe, or who they represent.
23 Jun, 2025
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11 min read