Independent Voters on the Rise: Disappointed But Not Discouraged

Indies are increasingly disappointed by the performance of Congress, and the President, but the campaign for structural political reforms like open primaries, nonpartisan elections, independent redistricting, fair access to the ballot, citizen initiative and referendum and fusion is gaining ground nationally...   Closed primaries, which exclude independents from the crucial first round of voting, is one major structural obstacle to a vigorous democracy. (See www.OpenPrimaries.org)  Another obstacle is partisan control of redistricting, whereby state legislators – Republicans and Democrats all – carve up their state’s districts to guarantee the election of party-sanctioned candidates, using the power of partisan legislatures to support the status quo. Discriminatory ballot access requirements that are heavily biased against independent and third-party candidates, and the exclusion of such candidates from the nationally televised presidential debates jointly sponsored by the two major parties, are other obstacles. State laws that ban fusion and citizens’ initiative and referendum distance independents and all voters from the policy-making process.

National Conference Call for Independents.  Every six weeks, CUIP president Jacqueline Salit hosts America's largest ongoing national call for independents. She provides updates about what independents are doing around the country and how the movement is growing. Get connected, hear updates. 

Sign up here.

Listen to 6/27 conference call here.

Listen to 5/10 conference call here.

Listen to the 3/28 conference call here.

Read the transcript from Jackie Salit's 10/12 conference call here.

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Congress more unpopular than ever (By Jennifer Agiesta and Laurie Kellman, Chicago Sun Times) Much about the next election hinges on independent voters, the ever-growing group fiercely wooed by campaigns for years. Among them, 65 percent say they want their own House representative tossed out in 2012, compared with 53 percent of respondents generally.
• AP-GfK Poll: 87% in US disapprove of Congress (By LAURIE KELLMAN, The Associated Press - Atlanta Journal Constitution) Republicans and Democrats statistically tied, 40 percent to 43 percent respectively, when respondents were asked which party they trust more to handle the federal budget deficit. Nearly a third of independents said they trust neither party on the issue.
• Independents WANT Obama to fight GOP harder (By Greg Sargent, Washington Post/The Plum Line) Pew poll:     A 37% plurality now contends that Obama should challenge the Republicans in Congress more often; 25% say Obama should go along with GOP leaders more frequently, while about the same percentage (26%) say he is handling the situation about right. In April, fewer (27%) said Obama should challenge GOP congressional leaders more often.
• Charlie Cook: Travels With Charlie: America's Summer of Discontent (National Journal) But the fact that so much discontent exists in both parties is a sign of something deeply corrosive happening in this country. It isn’t just independent voters who have a derisive view of politics, elected officials, and public institutions. There is a growing sense that few good people are going into politics, and that many of those who are currently in office — people who are smart, experienced, and well-intentioned — are somehow neutralized, co-opted, or thwarted. A sense that institutions are failing, and no sense that they are being replaced with something that will succeed.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

OPEN PRIMARIES
TN: State party stole election from voters (The Tennessean)

INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM
OR: Is Direct Democracy in Oregon Too Much of a Good Thing? (News Blaze)

REDISTRICTING
CA: Arnold's Redistricting Power Grab Dies at the Box Office -- Again (California Majority Report)

CAMPAIGN

• Independent voters may influence election (Daily Bruin - UCLA) Declining to affiliate oneself with a political party is a growing trend, according to several polls.
• WA: State's swing voters hold key in close elections (Seattle Post Intelligencer) The Republicans owe their 2004 and 2006 victories -- and Rossi, his near victory -- to just those voters who favored Democratic candidates at the top of the ticket and then switched to the GOP further down the ballot.
• Uncertain Times (By Andrew Kohut, NY Times/Campaign Stops) Sixty percent of independents hold a favorable opinion of her, but as many of them say Palin is not qualified to serve as president, if required
• McCain-Palin: A Third Party? (The Tampa Tribune - Hernando Today)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Devil is in the details for independent voters (Minnesota Public Radio) Jackie Salit on Broadcast: Midmorning, 08/13/2008, 9:06 a.m. [NOTE: I wasn't able to figure out how to tune in online, however, hopefully others did or Minnesota independents were able to listen to the radio waves.... If you happened to catch this -- please let me know your responses!! email The Hankster and I'll publish your remarks.)
• Suburban cowboys lasso Colorado into purple camp (Seattle Post Intelligencer RERUN FROM THE ECONOMIST)

REFORM

• WA: In our view: Our state's top two primary is making a lot of sense to other states (The Columbian) Yes, voters are excited about our state’s new top two primary because it follows the astoundingly logical concept of advancing the top two vote-getters to the Nov. 4 election, regardless of party. You can’t get much more democratic than that.
• NY: Petitions have power-Government downsizing initiative finds a way to take to the streets (Buffalo News)

CAMPAIGN

• Female voters heed character issue (Adrienne T. Washington, Washington Times) Michelle Bernard says "They are overwhelmingly concerned about pocketbook issues," of the 2008 presidential election, which she predicts will be decided by centrists and independent voters.
• Republicans for Obama (Minnesota Star Tribune)

LOCAL INDEPENDENT NEWS: Local Congressional candidate in Tennessee considers contesting nonpartisan election to close party primary. Ahh, the desperation of partisan politics!

• Little-Used Law At Root Of Davis’ Recount Effort (BRISTOL HERALD COURIER - TN) According to published reports, the freshman congressman cited Tennessee election law, which states voters who aren’t party members are ineligible to vote in that party’s primary. He contends Democrats voted in the Republican primary and claims such votes improperly influenced the results. Tennessee, however, has an open primary, meaning party affiliation is not a prerequisite to vote.
• Ramsey says Davis should not challenge results of election (Kingsport Times News - TN) “You declare the way you are voting when you walk into a voting booth,” the Blountville Republican said. “It would be very hard to prove that there was concerted effort to get Democrats to vote in a Republican primary or vice versa. Even if you could prove that, I don’t see it’s illegal.”
• Davis ponders challenge to primary vote (The Hill) Davis told a local paper that he might challenge some of the primary votes based on the voting history of the people who cast them.
• Commentary - Colorado in '08 is preview of unions' plans in '09 (by Mark Tapscott, The Examiner)
• Williams back on trail (Austin Daily Herald) Dean Barkley, an Independence Party candidate for the U.S. Senate, praised Williams’ responses, which Minnesota Public Radio featured on their newscasts the following day.

THIRD PARTY NEWS
Thomas Knapp endorses Gravel’s National Initiative (Knapp for Congress) The latest endorser of Gravel’s “National Initiative for Democracy,” which would enable a process for direct lawmaking by popular vote, is Thomas L. Knapp, the Libertarian Party’s candidate for US House of Representatives from Missouri’s 2nd District.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

REFORM: Budget Deficits, Redistricting, Initiative and Referendum, Electoral College, Ballot Access Reform

• CA: Is governor's pay cut threat just a big head fake? (Sacramento Bureau Contra Costa Times)
• CA: Would Prop. 11 help minorities? It takes redistricting away from the Legislature. Will minorities gain or lose? (LA Times)
• NY: Cut the Legislature-Plan to reduce number of lawmakers deserves support from officials (Buffalo News)
• The Far Left's War on Direct Democracy (By JOHN FUND, Wall Street Journal) A few words on Ward Connerly's anti-affirmative action activity
• Gov. Granholm likes part of Reform Michigan Government Now proposal (Michigan Live)
• Pennsylvania Senator Introduces Ballot Access Reform Bill (Ballot Access News)
• Maine Ballot Access Case Oral Argument in State Supreme Court (Ballot Access News)
• Dump the Electoral College? (Detroit Free Press LETTERS)

CAMPAIGN

• Bloomberg Wants Independents To Organize To Increase Power (JOE GANDELMAN, The Moderate Voice)
• John McCain takes my advice. (By mw, Donklephant) The Left of center blogosphere jumped all over it, called it a flip-flop, and completely missed the important point. Sure it was a flip-flop. But most Obama supporters cheered when Obama flip-flopped “moved to the center” on a whole host of issues. So let us just say that Maliki has permitted McCain to “move to the center” on Iraq. You know - where most of the voters are. With this move, McCain takes away the single biggest issue advantage that Obama has over him with moderate, centrist, independent and libertarian voters.
• Ralph Nader at UGA, criticizes Obama's corporate ties (By JIM GALLOWAY, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

REFORM California nonpartisan redistricting..... Missouri open primaries..... Maine initiative and referendum.... North Carolina fair ballot access.... Oklahoma ballot access

• CA: Proposition 11 levels the redistricting playing field (Mercury News)
• CA: House Dems oppose Calif. redistricting measure (Daily Comet)
• MO: In our view: Consider local races (Joplin Globe) Our recommendation is that party affiliation is secondary to ensuring that competent people are elected to our county offices.
• ME: AUGUSTA Charter panel mulls petitions and their limits (Kennebec Journal)
• NC: Ballot laws hurt democracy-N.C. obstructions thwart third parties, independents (Daily Tarheel, UNC)
• OK: Barr fight: Ballot access is candidate's focus (NewsOK.com, The Oklahoman Editorial)

BONUSGATE PENNSYLVANIA

• Green Party candidate wants case reopened (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Bonusgate, a distraction we don’t need (The Sentinel) Meanwhile, a serious reform — a constitutional amendment to take partisanship out of the redistricting process — languished in committee, which means it can’t be passed in time for the next round of reapportionment following the 2010 census.
• Something’s Rotten in the State of Pennsylvania (Dissident Voice) Bonusgate involved the use of state employees to challenge the nominating petitions of Ralph Nader in 2004 (Also see Political Profiling in Pennsylvania, CounterPunch )

THIRD PARTY NEWS
Editorial: Barkley: IP gets a serious candidate (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CAMPAIGN

• Neither Obama nor McCain meets Energy Party standard (The State/Brad Warthens blog) John McCain and Barack Obama are lucky there’s such a thing as Republicans and Democrats in this country, because neither would be able to get the Energy Party nomination.
• Obama to set up shop in South Carolina-In unusual move, staff hopes to swing the state to Democrats (The State) The key, Fowler said, will be registering African-American voters, who vote Democratic about 90 percent of the time, and chipping off more white and independent voters.
• N.C. campaigns have seen little McCain cash (News Observer - NC) When the Libertarians lost party status, those voters became unaffiliated, though they should be able to reregister now that it is a party again.

REFORM

• Watering down the will of the voters (Denver Post) Perhaps the most egregious is Rule 7.E.6, permitting the IEC to dismiss a complaint when the same complaint is "pending before another body with concurrent jurisdiction."
• Mazzaglia: America's magic (MetroWest Daily News - Framingham MA) It was also Jefferson who would later initiate the formation of political parties which have become the focus of governmental power.
• Giving More Power To The People (By Susan Kniep, The Day) It is to the advantage of both conservatives and liberals to lobby for the passage of this referendum question. Upon its passage, Connecticut residents should then work for the right of Statewide Initiative and Referendum (I&R).
• Appeals court to revisit domestic partnership law-Some say petition signatures were unfairly discarded (Statesman Journal) The fund's lawyers have relied heavily on a 2003 decision by the 9th Circuit, which struck down Idaho's requirement for initiative signatures to come from 6 percent of voters in each of at least half the state's 44 counties.
• Defining Marriage Is At Heart Of Ballot Question (LETTERS Hartford Courant)
• Under charter, citizens take 'initiative'- It could lead to more referendums on local ballot (Sunday News Lancaster Online)
• HOME RULE 101: Article VI: Initiative and referendumSunday News (Lancaster Online)
• THIS ARTICLE RAN YESTERDAY: Op-Ed: 'Bipartisan' proposal faces criticism (BY JACK LESSENBERRY, Traverse City Record Eagle )
• Petitioners poised to submit ballot issue that chops Michigan lawmakers, judges and their pay (MichiganLive.com) If the Reform Michigan Government Now constitutional amendment does get on the ballot, voters would be asked to consider the most wholesale change in state government since term limits were approved for elected executive and legislative offices in 1992.
• Michigan Democrats express concern about government reform proposal (Gordon Trowbridge and Deb Price / Detroit News Washington Bureau)
• Socialists holding national event in Ann Arbor (The Ann Arbor News) "Ann Arbor has been a seminal location for larger radical movements in the United States, he said, referring to activity in the 1960s and '70s.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CAMPAIGN

• What do New York Voters Want Hillary Clinton to do? (Political Lore) And with the all important independent voters, 19% want her to be the candidate, 43% want her to remain in the Senate, 4% want her to run for Governor. 2% want her to run for Mayor and 33% want her to go away...
• Overview of Black Presidential Candidacy (Black Voice News)
• Nader submits petitions for Nevada presidential ballot (Reno Gazette Journal)

REFORM
Oregon "top two" primary; Connecticut constitutional convention for initiative and referendum; Michigan -- who's really behind the reform efforts?

• Oregon ballot could see 10 initiative proposals (The Oregonian)
• Power Mustn't Fall Into The Wrong Hands (Hartford Courant)
• Tyranny Masked As Populism (LETTER Hardford Courant)
• Coalition pushes for constitutional convention (Hartford Courant)
• Michigan group fighting to change state constitution (Toledo Blade)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

REFORM: Initiative and Referendum, Term Limits, Campaign Finance, Redistricting

• TX: Group focuses on city charter review (Houston Chronicle) "We're trying to get the councilmen and the mayor to respond to the people," Pruitt said.
• MI: Reform package may aid Dems - State party wants petition on ballot to overhaul Legislature; GOP say it's power play. (Detroit News)
• NY: Gov. Paterson: The first 100 days (Poughkeepsie Journal) Short on political reform

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS
FLORIDA

• Suit Targets Write-In Candidates Loophole (The Tampa Tribune) Don't close the primaries
• Aronberg sues over write-in loophole (Palm Beach Post FL) Independent voter joins suit
• EDITORIAL ~~ Commissioner is no democrat either . . . (Fernandina Beach Leader - FL) Higginbotham changed from a Democrat to a Republican for convenience as the GOP became Nassau County's majority party. He has become nonpartisan for convenience as well.

CAMPAIGN

• Deeply divided Colorado could be a toss-up state (CNN) Colorado, with its large population of independent voters, could become the ultimate battleground state in the general election.
• Obama Camp Thinks Democrats Can Rise in South (BlueRidgeNow - NC)

REFORM: Initiative and Referendum, Redistricting

• Citizens Have A Right To Legislate (LETTERS Hartford Courant )
• Voter reforms should be included on ballots (LETTER Albany Times Union)
• First step in city council recall attempt begins with meeting (BY DAVID TEWES - VICTORIA ADVOCATE - TX)
• Shameless Anti-Redistricting Web Site Goes Up (New America/Blockbuster Democracy blog)
• Stop the Power Grab Redistricting Initiative (Citizens for Accountability website) ref. above
• Sacramento Bee Account of Redistricting Debate (Rose Report)
• Senator Perata’s Redistricting Hypocrisy (Rose Report)
• Orlando Sentinel Editorial on Florida Redistricting Reform (Rose Report)
• Perata's power play (San Francisco Chronicle)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CAMPAIGN
Ritter on 'Meet the Press': Obama has 'great opportunity' to win Colo. (9 News Colorado) "I don't know really if it'll help or hurt. What I can tell you is if you think about the play in the West, independent voters - independent registered, not registered Democrat or Republican - they're really where the play will be."

REFORM

• N.J. citizens need I&R (Press of Atlanic City LETTER)
• Voting's neglected scandal (David Broder Washington Post) the need for redistricting reform
• We think: An effort to reduce predictability in political districts deserves support (Orlando Sentinel)
• AS I SEE IT: Make sure votes cast are counted (Kansas City Star) Do away with Electoral College, make election day a holiday
• Editorial: Don't block vote on IRV in St. Paul (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
• IRV: Dead or alive? (Twin Cities Daily Planet )
  

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CAMPAIGN

• Softer-Touch Marketing Woos Cross-Party Voter (CQ Politics)
• Obama’s Down-Ballot Effect (New York Times/The Caucus) With all the talk and worry about the potential “Obama effect” on races down the ticket, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee believes it has identified a very positive one – Senator Barack Obama runs strongly with independent voters.

IDAHO
Idaho Republican Party May Drop Lawsuit Against Open Primary (Ballot Access News)

REFORM * INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING * OPEN PRIMARIES * NONPARTISAN ELECTIONS * INITIATIVE & REFERENDUM * REDISTRICTING REFORM * BALLOT ACCESS REFORM * DIRECT ELECTIONS * SAME DAY VOTER REGISTRATION
NC: Instant voting beats a runoff (News Observer)
OH: Brunner discusses election, staying nonpartisan (News Herald) "The legislature has changed a lot of the requirements for statewide initiative and referendum petitioning, making it much more difficult for citizen initiative legislation or constitutional amendments to occur, so oftentimes these efforts start but they don't come to fruition because the legislature has made the requirements much more difficult than before."
UT: Muzzling the people: Legislature should not take lawmaking petitions away (Salt Lake City Tribune Editorial) Why would the Legislature do this? To help developers, of course. In the delicate balance between private property rights and community interests, the Legislature is putting its thumb on the scale to favor property.
PA: No reforms for this Legislature (Erie Times News) The "reform-minded" Legislature, three-quarters through its two-year term, with 55 freshmen in the aftermath of voter anger over the noxious 2005 pay grab, hasn't exactly brought revolution.
MI: State ballot proposal seeks broad reform (Detroit News) A potential ballot proposal for the November election is rattling some of Michigan's political establishment, especially the Republican side.
NY: Public financing is the only real reform (Albany Times Union) Paterson may be off to a somewhat slow start where reform is concerned, but as the journey of 1,000 miles goes, this is still a mighty big first stride.
US: Text of Senator Nelson’s Proposed Constitutional Amendment for Direct Presidential Election (Ballot Access News)
PA: Independent Candidate for Pennsylvania Legislature Files Ballot Access Lawsuit (Ballot Access News)
US: Will states topple Electoral College? (Stateline.org/Republican American)
US: American apathetic toward government-Bigger changes are needed to fix this nation (The Daily Evergreen) The only way to get the politically apathetic portion of the American population involved in politics is to institute widespread political reform.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CONROY V. STATE COMMITTEE of the INDEPENDENCE PARTY OF NEW YORK

• Indy Party Control Lawsuit Decided (Elizabeth Benjamin, Daily News/Daily Politics)
• Top NY court says state party committees have authority (AP/CBS 6 Albany)
• Highest State Court in New York Rules in Favor of State Political Parties and Against Their Local Organizations (Ballot Access News)
• New York City Independence Party: Voters, not courts, will decide future of the party (The Hankster) Statement by county chairs of NYC Independence Party

OREGON
John Frohnmayer quits the race for U.S. Senate, cites lack of support (The Oregonian)

MINNESOTA Independence Party
Fore! Could a Ventura Senate candidacy hang on Wednesday's golf game? (Minnesota Post)

CAMPAIGN
Independent voters seen as crucial for victory (San Diego Union-Tribune)

OTHER REFORM

• UTAH: Referendum limits law sent to Utah high court (The Salt Lake Tribune)
• PENNSYLVANIA: Bogus reasons block redistricting reform (Allentown Morning Call)

The Oklahoma 3: The right to petition our government

The video at the top of The Hankster is Paul Jacob talking about the indictment of three organizers of an Oklahoma state-wide citizen initiative. “This prosecution will have a chilling effect on those petition rights of the folks who live in this state and, through spreading fear, perhaps on the rights of citizens all over the country…"

Kim Wright, spokesperson for Oklahoma Independent Voters, called the prosecution an attempt to intimidate voters from exercising their right to petition their government.

“The initiative process provides ordinary citizens, regardless of political party, the opportunity to bring issues to the voters, issues that legislators might not be willing to support or pursue,” said Wright.

h/t Third Party Watch

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

Gerald F. Seib of the Wall Street Journal seems to think the Dems own independent voters for the moment

The Virginia Repub loyalty oath gets caught in the throats of voters (Washington Post)

Where's Obama's black vote? The Clinton's know how to accumulate I.O.U.'s and they know how to strong-arm (Huffington Post)

California nonpartisan redistricting: It's baaaaackkkkk!!! (San Francisco Chronicle)

And that's only the beginning of the reforms needed..... (Central Valley Business Times)

The Columbia Missourian says many people are disassociating themselves from the two political parties and indicating a desire for a strong independent candidate....

In New Jersey, modified I&R could work (New Jersey Voices)

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TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Michigan voters prefer open primaries with no party declaration, but the parties want names and addresses (Battle Creek Enquirer)


• Without term limits in California, there'd be no competition at all -- but not without nonpartisan redistricting.... (Daniel Weintraub in Sacramento Bee)


• Who's standing for Perot Voters? Not Lou Dobbs.... (Ben Smith, Politico, in CBS News)


• New Hampshire Adwatch: McCain--too little too late--Courts Independents (AP Google)


• Virginia voters will have to sign loyalty oath to vote in Repub presidential primary (WVEC Hampton Roads)


• Oklahoma pols seem worried: For I&R issue, collect 160,000 signatures in 90 days, and make sure your petitioners reside in the state -- and there's no residency requirement for orgs that oppose the issue (National Review)


• Bloomberg appeals, but won't run the race (Huffington Post)


• Barack Obama: Live at the Apollo!! (Amsterdam News), Obama speaks with the Amsterdam News and November 29th Community Board meeting conflicts with Obama Apollo appearance (UPTOWNflavor)

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TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Initiative and Referendum calls up Constitutional questions about 601 (Seattle Times)
• Vilifying, worshipping candidates unhealthy for democracy (Ithaca Journal)
• It’s time to end the war in Iraq-vote 3rd party (LETTER to La Crosse Tribune)
• Barack Obama Plans Fund-Raising Sweep in City (NY Sun)

EXCERPT from NY Sun article: Trailing Senator Clinton in the race for campaign cash, Senator Obama is sweeping through New York City for a flurry of fundraising events on Thursday, one of which will be hosted by a Republican-turned-Democrat and another by a couple hosting their first political fund-raiser.

Mr. Obama will top off his fundraising frenzy with his first campaign visit to Harlem, where he will deliver a speech at the Apollo Theater, where the doors will open at 7:00 p.m. The Obama campaign is aiming to sell out the 1,500-seat landmark, where tickets are $50 each, and send a message that Mr. Obama is intent on running a competitive race in Mrs. Clinton's home state.


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