Hankster News of the Day for Independents - July 17

INDEPENDENT VOTERS
Independent Voters of America Seeks to Reduce Gridlock (By johnschneideR, IVN) At the end of May the team at Independent Voters of America announced the launch of the most inclusive ongoing study of independent voters’ opinions with our iVoter Project. Our goal is to build the most comprehensive database of how independent voters really feel about a diverse range of political issues, and to use the analysis of this database to challenge the narrative perpetuated by the mainstream media, major polling organizations and the two mainstream political parties regarding the role of independent voters in elections and our political system.

ARIZONA

• Highly Influential registered independent latino voter – Carlos Sierra writes Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallegos (by Dee Dee Garcia Blase, Tucson Citizen) He is a registered Latino independent voter now.  He was the national campaign advisor for Independent candidate –Buddy Roemer who ran for President, too.  In addition to that, Sierra worked for Sen. John McCain for almost a decade in community outreach and made many, many friends and worked with grassroots leaders in the Democratic, Republican and Independent Party here in Arizona … which puts him in the highly influential category for the State of Arizona.
• Arizona elections may bring Democratic-majority delegation (by Rebekah L. Sanders and Dan Nowicki, Tucson Citizen) Republicans hold the voter- registration edge in Arizona, about 1.2 million to 1 million Democratic voters. Independents make up roughly another 1.2 million.

OHIO
Commenters have plenty to say about independent voting trend (By Gayle Beck, CantonRep.com opinion page editor) All of this is the reason we should have open primary elections for presidential candidates, so we can vote for the best primary candidate regardless of their party. It is criminal that a person in Ohio cannot vote in a presidential primary without choosing one party’s ballot, which then lists you as a Rep or Dem in the public voter registration lists. Then, these voter lists showing Rep or Dem with the person’s name are published online in some counties — which in effect means we have no secret vote, and we have no way of voting for the best candidate who might be of the other party. If we go “non-partisan,” then we cannot vote in the primary. It is ridiculous and un-American.  Thinkingamerican