Websites For Independent Voters

From Everyday Woman
By Marcia Ford (Reprinted from We the Purple: Faith, Politics, and the Independent Voter )

It would be impossible to list all the worthwhile independent-voter blogs and Web sites I've discovered, so I've pared the list down to sites that reflect general interests. Some of the links below refer to sites mentioned in the previous chapters, but some referred to earlier are not on the list below. That is no reflection on their value to independent voters but rather an effort to avoid too much duplication. Be sure to visit the sites mentioned in the chapters as well.
Most of the sites below provide a list of links to sites that narrow the field to, say, independent conservatives, evangelical progressives, or liberal populists.

Ballot Access News (http://www.ballot-access.org/): This one's a real eye-opener, even if you're not interested in ballot-access issues. Just read a few random posts, and you'll get an inkling of the challenges faced by independent candidates - and independent voters trying to simply register as independents. Of course, if you're a ballot-access junkie, this is where you'll get your fix.

Central Sanity (http://www.centralsanity.blogspot.com/): "Supporting the Rebellion of Reasonable People in an Unreasonable World." This site is for moderate Republican and independent voters but provides news and smart commentary that transcends political ideology.

Committee for a Unified Independent Party (CUIP) (http://www.independentvoting.org/index.html): Pretty much a national clearinghouse for all things politically independent. This group has done more to rally and unite independents than any organization or individual out there. Great source of information and news, plus a link to the CUIP publication The Neo-Independent, where you'll find indie-related articles and commentary. This is where you start if you want to find out more or connect with other independents nationwide.

The Hankster (http://grassrootsindependent.blogspot.com/): Hands down, the best source for daily political news that independents would be interested in. Nancy Hanks has been politically active for decades and really knows her stuff. It would be a good idea to bookmark her site and visit it often.

Independent Texans (http://www.indytexans.org/): Lots of information of interest to Texans, but also some great information on political reform; just follow the link by that name in the left column.

Independent Voice (http://www.independentvoice.org/): The voice of California's 3.6 million independents, or at least those who have found the site and appreciate its perspective on independent politics. There's lots of overlap here with CUIP, but it's still a site worth visiting.

The Moderate Voice (http://www.themoderatevoice.com/): "Domestic and international news analysis, irreverent comments, original reporting, and popular culture features from across the political spectrum." Sometimes just fun stuff, but often the kind of news you won't get from the mainstream media. Well worth checking out.

Project Vote Smart (http://votesmart.org/index.htm): An all-around excellent site for information on candidates and the issues. Besides, you have to love a group that boasts a purple bus and the slogan, "We provide more information about the candidates than they remember about themselves."

The Purple State (http://thepurplestate.com/): "Political Commentary from the Youth Vote"; specifically, a group of students, mostly from Vassar, who founded the site because they "could not take it anymore" - "it" being the partisanship that is obscuring the nation's real concerns. Now they're blogging, and what they have to say is significant.

WatchBlog (http://watchblog.com/): I especially like the format of this site, which provides three columns of news and commentary of interest to Democrats and liberals, third-party voters and independents, and Republicans and conservatives. After reading the items in the center column, dedicated to us, you can spy on the partisans to the left and right.

Excerpted from We the Purple (Tyndale House Publishers) by Marcia Ford. Reprinted with permission.
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