Hankster News of the Day for Independent Voters - June 11

• Independents Call for Congressional Hearings on Disenfranchisement (By Damon Eris, IVN) The campaign for Congressional hearings on these and similar issues by Independent Voting has already begun to gain some traction among members of Congress. One supporter is Republican Rep. Michael Grimm from New York City. In a letter to Trent Franks, the Chair of the Subcommittee on the Constitution in the House Judiciary Committee, Grimm stated his support for hearings on what IndependentVoting is calling the “second class status” of Independent voters. His letter noted a number of the barriers faced by Independents.
• Indie voters get to have their say (Mike Nichols, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) It's much more than dissatisfaction with the issues, though, that drives independents away from the parties nowadays. Identifying yourself as a member of a party immediately turns a conversation into a "flamefest," said Alexander Vogel, a 26-year-old Beloit guy standing outside Central Christian Church, a polling spot on Milwaukee Road. "It's like, 'You are of the opposite party. I must argue with you. We must disagree'," he said.
• Historic third party voter legislation introduced in City Council (Hassan Giordano, Baltimore Independent Examiner) But one of the more interesting pieces of legislation, which was being offered up for the first time last night by 14th District Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke, and co-sponsored by the entire city council; was a measure that would allow for third party voters to be appointed to local boards and commissions – a political luxury not offered to any voter not registered with the Democratic or Republican parties.
• Why Every Woman Should Be an Independent Voter (Bill Hillsman, Huffington Post) What's a woman to do? Become a free agent. Until the Democrats stop taking you for granted and the Republicans stop trying to dictate to you, assert your independence. Join us at Independent Voters of America today.
• 3 Reasons Why Split-Ticket Voting Might be the Right Thing To Do (Susan Kraykowski, Policymic) Politics is not very scientific – except, perhaps, in polling methodology. What is scientific about glad-handing one’s way along a rope line or eating whatever is shoved in one’s face with a smile for the camera? Politics is more of an art form or social experiment than scientific study.
• Is This Maine Independent the Solution to Our Partisan Woes? (The Atlantic, David Rohde) King, a former Democrat who now rejects both Republican and Democratic dogma, is either an anachronism or a sign that some voters are tiring of partisanship. Keep in mind that a record number of Americans -- 40 percent -- identified themselves as independent in a January Gallup poll; 31 percent identified as Democrats and 27 percent as Republicans. 
• Prop 14 Pushes Independent Candidates into General Elections (By Faith Eischen, IVN) There will be four independent candidates among the congressional elections in November and one Independent candidate running in the state assembly election for District 28. All face Republican or Democratic opponents. The CA open primary results prove to be a successful way in breaking the past, partisan-dominant electoral process.
• The Fletcher experiment fails (By ALEXANDER BURNS, Politico/Burns & Haberman) I’m late in catching up to this, but one of the important, lower-profile races on Tuesday was the San Diego mayoral primary, which resulted in the 2012 cycle’s latest setback for independent, nonpartisan politics. State Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, who left the GOP to seek the mayor’s office as an independent, came in third in the open primary behind Republican City Councilman Carl DeMaio and Democratic Rep. Bob Filner.