WHERE THE INDEPENDENTS ARE.....A daily news feed of, by and for Independents across America.
Today is California’s Independents Day!
Over two million voters cast a “Yes” vote for Proposition 14 and against partisan politics! As a result, the 3.4 million Decline to State independent voters will have equal access to our political process. At the rate voters are choosing to become independents here in California, we expect to be over the four million mark by our next election cycle.
Yesterday, the voters of California chose progressive political reform over status quo partisanship. Proposition 14 passed by the largest margin for a political reform initiative in more than a dozen years. The voters made a clear and decisive statement that the way to fix broken government is to expand democracy, contain the control exercised by political parties, and give greater power to the people. I want to thank the independent voters and organizations across the country that aided us in our fight to expand our democracy, most especially our national ally, IndependentVoting.org. Of course, I want to thank Governor Schwarzenegger and Lt. Governor Maldonado for standing with the outsiders to take on the party insiders. This is a game changing coalition.
Elected officials and candidates should take note: There is a new political force in California. I highly recommend you go to our website at IndependentVoice.Org and start reading up on the issues of interest to independent voters. For as diverse a group as we are, we’re unified behind the belief that we must democratize our political process so that the people – not the parties and special interests – determine the politics and policy of our state and our country. But don’t wait too long, because the next election will be here soon. And 3.4 million independents want to know where you stand on the independents’ political reform agenda.
Finally, a word about the national implications of Prop 14. California is a bell-weather state, and our victory for open primaries and progressive democratic reform here must be used to break the hold of partisanship everywhere in America. I want to extend a direct invitation to Governor Schwarzenegger, Lt. Gov. Maldonado and the rest of our coalition partners to join with us in extending this effort nationally. And a special message to our independent friends across the country who are fighting – as we speak – to achieve or to protect open primaries and non-partisan elections in Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, and New York City: Help is on the way!
“Yesterday, California voters decisively passed Proposition 14, which creates a nonpartisan primary system across the state. Though the political parties – major and minor – opposed the measure, the voters defied the partisan establishment and gave Prop 14 54% of the vote. This is the biggest margin for a political reform initiative in California in over a dozen years. And it means the state’s 3.4 million independents can participate in every round of voting. Congratulations California! Now it’s New York City’s turn. We’re saddled with a closed primary system that locks out nearly one million independent voters. The message of California is that it’s time to put political calculus aside, to put nonpartisans on the ballot, and to let the voters decide what kind of electoral system they want to have.”
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