TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CAMPAIGN

• Softer-Touch Marketing Woos Cross-Party Voter (CQ Politics)
• Obama’s Down-Ballot Effect (New York Times/The Caucus) With all the talk and worry about the potential “Obama effect” on races down the ticket, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee believes it has identified a very positive one – Senator Barack Obama runs strongly with independent voters.

IDAHO
Idaho Republican Party May Drop Lawsuit Against Open Primary (Ballot Access News)

REFORM * INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING * OPEN PRIMARIES * NONPARTISAN ELECTIONS * INITIATIVE & REFERENDUM * REDISTRICTING REFORM * BALLOT ACCESS REFORM * DIRECT ELECTIONS * SAME DAY VOTER REGISTRATION
NC: Instant voting beats a runoff (News Observer)
OH: Brunner discusses election, staying nonpartisan (News Herald) "The legislature has changed a lot of the requirements for statewide initiative and referendum petitioning, making it much more difficult for citizen initiative legislation or constitutional amendments to occur, so oftentimes these efforts start but they don't come to fruition because the legislature has made the requirements much more difficult than before."
UT: Muzzling the people: Legislature should not take lawmaking petitions away (Salt Lake City Tribune Editorial) Why would the Legislature do this? To help developers, of course. In the delicate balance between private property rights and community interests, the Legislature is putting its thumb on the scale to favor property.
PA: No reforms for this Legislature (Erie Times News) The "reform-minded" Legislature, three-quarters through its two-year term, with 55 freshmen in the aftermath of voter anger over the noxious 2005 pay grab, hasn't exactly brought revolution.
MI: State ballot proposal seeks broad reform (Detroit News) A potential ballot proposal for the November election is rattling some of Michigan's political establishment, especially the Republican side.
NY: Public financing is the only real reform (Albany Times Union) Paterson may be off to a somewhat slow start where reform is concerned, but as the journey of 1,000 miles goes, this is still a mighty big first stride.
US: Text of Senator Nelson’s Proposed Constitutional Amendment for Direct Presidential Election (Ballot Access News)
PA: Independent Candidate for Pennsylvania Legislature Files Ballot Access Lawsuit (Ballot Access News)
US: Will states topple Electoral College? (Stateline.org/Republican American)
US: American apathetic toward government-Bigger changes are needed to fix this nation (The Daily Evergreen) The only way to get the politically apathetic portion of the American population involved in politics is to institute widespread political reform.