WHO OWNS AMERICA'S PRIMARY ELECTIONS?

• Arizona presidential primary in peril - County officials want parties to handle process (by Michelle Ye Hee Lee, The Arizona Republic) Representatives from the Democratic and Libertarian parties said they would support legislation that would drop the 2012 election. "The idea of people paying for primary elections for parties that they do not agree with substantially is absurd," said Barry Hess, Libertarian Party spokesman.
• Guest opinion: First, look in the mirror (by Greg Cusack, Asheville Citizen Times) Abolish the caucus system, moving either to open primaries or to a ranking primary election in which the two or three candidates garnering the most votes proceed to the general election. Only in this way will we eliminate the steady march to the ideological extremes that characterize our times.
• SCOTUS would be wise to scuttle Arizona Clean Elections law (by Mark B. Evans, Tucson Citizen) The state courts gutted open primaries, which were intended to empower the growing class of centrist voters who are registered independents by allowing them to vote for whomever they wanted in primaries. The political parties sued and now the primaries are only half open, meaning independents can vote but they have to pick a side first. As a result, few independents vote in primaries leaving primary elections in the hands of the most liberal or the most conservative of voters, who are the ones most likely to vote in a primary.

"Not Your Grandfather's Caucus"

When Arizona Grand Canyon Independent Voters set up a caucus for independent voters at the Showlow Senior Citizens Center, local press failed to post notice about the event. Local Arizona independent activists Geannie Schroeder and Scott Brannon were undetered when nobody showed up.

What's an independent activist to do? Move to the next corner!

Geannie and Scott moved their operation to the local library in Showlow, set up a table, gave out bottled water and cookies and signed up another dozen or so voters interested in political reform. A lot of folks walked by, but a lot of independents stopped and listened, says Geannie. She was motivated by the experience. The next move? The Safeway.

This is exactly the kind of grassroots activism that builds the independent movement!

Watch for Grand Canyon Independent Voters on your corner!

To contact Grand Canyon Independent Voters

Contact: Geannie Schroeder, Scott Brannon

Email: roooney@cableone.net, gciv@npgcable.com

Phone: 928-537-7699 or 928-242-4775

Conversations on Independent Voters: Independents in Arkansas

Courtney Terry, a mom and grad student in Little Rock, Arkansas, came to independent politics because she didn't feel comfortable in a partisan world--and a world that so readily accepts poverty as a norm.

She is organizing a caucus of independents to talk about next steps and has been conducting a voter registration drive in her community.

Courtney told The Hankster that she comes from a family (from Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas) that just "doesn't feel like the partisan process includes them." "I've spoken with friends who think the third choice is always crazy," Courtney said.

Crazy? In a world gone mad, it would be crazy NOT to be crazy! --NH

Contact Courtney at courtneyterry@hotmail.com or Phone: 501-773-0877

Happy Independence Day!

Conversations on Primaries and Caucuses and Independents

The first votes of the 2008 presidential election will soon be cast and we all know that there's more than a bucketful of manure about to hit the fan soon thereafter. Just under the 2-party-winner-take-all system however, something else is brewing. An independent presidential candidate? A grassroots primary where everyone can vote? A national system of ballot access for regular people? If it wasn't politics, this just might be "fun"!

As part of the "Draft Mike Bloomberg" movement, here's a new site called Unite for Mike

IndependentPrimary.com is running an online presidential primary for independent voters until Dec. 18... Word is that Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich are in a dead heat.... Results will be sent via email to all participants and released to the media after the end of the primary. Log in and vote!

National Presidential Caucus held about 17 grassroots caucuses around the country yesterday.

New Hampshire independents are sticking to their guns

Independent Voters Alliance has a national design for equal and fair ballot access for all citizens