TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• CT: Waves Of Connecticut Residents Registering To Vote (Hartford Courant) Only 28,652 new voters registered Republican, compared to 92,752 Democrats and 94,342 unaffiliated.
• CT: Registered voters in Conn. surpass 2 million (Newsday) Bysiewicz says the largest group of voters in Connecticut are more than 845,300 who are unaffiliated with a political party.

OREGON MEASURE 65

• Editorial: We say no to M62, M63, M64; yes to M65 (Corvallis Gazette Times)
• Measure 65 would alter Oregon's primary election system significantly- Process would open voting option beyond two parties (Statesman Journal)
• Measure 65 Sparks Debate In Oregon (KVEW)

CAMPAIGN

• Poll: Obama ahead in critical counties (Politico) In Prince William County, Obama leads in this age group, 58-33 percent, and takes independent voters by an even wider, 55-25 percent margin.
• Independent voters likely to have the last word (Sun Sentinel in Atlanta Journal Constitution)
• Current Presidential Polls in North Carolina (Associated Content) This lead comes as Obama extends his lead nationally, and now he has a 9 point lead amongst unaffiliated voters in North Carolina.
• In a longtime conservative stronghold, Weld County voters drift from GOP (Colorado Independent) Voter registration in Weld County favors Republicans, who hold onto 38 percent of the electorate, while 26 percent of voters are Democrats and 36 percent are unaffiliated.

BLOOMBERG/TERM LIMITS

• The Term Limits Hearings, Evening Edition (NY Times/City Room) Robert Conroy, chairman of the Brooklyn Independence Party. The City Council “may have the legal right” to amend the city charter to amend term limits, he said, but “does not have the moral right” to do so. .....
  ....Esteli Pacio, who is active in Independence Party in Manhattan....: “The core reasons this was passed have not changed,” she said of term limits, adding, “Yes, term limits eliminate the choice of the incumbent; however, voters have decided twice that we don’t have that choice.” Ms. Pacio said, “It seems you have discovered a way to turn your back on the people of New York.”
  “I acknowledge that we are in a crisis, but who says this mayor and these council members are the only ones who can help us?” Ms. Pacio asked. She cited the example of George Washington, who stepped down after two terms.
  Alan Weissman, who is active in the Independence Party in Brooklyn, said he had $30,000 in student loans and talked about the steep costs of education. “My college education has to support me and my younger cousin, who spent a year in Afghanistan killing people in the name of democracy” only to return to New York and have trouble finding a job, Mr. Weissman said, prompting Mr. Felder to order him to return to the topic of term limits....
• Billionaire Tom Golisano to take on billionaire Michael Bloomberg over term limits (Daily News)
• Clinton: Bloomberg bid 'disturbing' (UPI)
• Mayor’s California Bid May Undercut Incumbents (NY Times) Mr. Bloomberg was in Los Angeles to promote Proposition 11, a hotly debated ballot question that would require a panel of independent citizens, rather than elected officials, to periodically alter the borders of voting districts for state offices.