<div><p>A San Diego native, Griffin is the Assistant Director of Communications at the Lugar Center, a DC think tank chaired by retired Senator Richard Lugar. He is a graduate of St. Olaf
The 2016 election has quickly turned into more than a two-person race as a growing segment of the electorate is looking outside the major parties to viable alternative options. This year, increased interest has propelled Libertarian Gary Johnson near the polling threshold required to appear alongside Democrat Hillary Clinton and
The focus for minor party candidates Gary Johnson and Dr. Jill Stein right now is getting to the 15 percent polling threshold to qualify for the presidential debate stage. However, there is another important number for both candidates, and that is the number 5. With widely disliked major-party candidates representing
Presidential Debates
A challenge to the Commission on Presidential Debates was effectively dismissed in federal court Friday. U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer ruled that there is little merit to the claim that the CPD is violating antitrust laws and there is no evidence the commission is intentionally working to shut
It’s been a few days now since WikiLeaks published nearly 20,000 emails and over 8,000 attachments from the Democratic National Committee. IVN’s own Andrew Gripp has published an article detailing some of their damning content. Emails show multiple occasions of collusion with the press, anti-Trump campaign
Faced with the prospect of Bernie Sanders not being the Democratic nominee, many of his supporters are taking a step in the seemingly opposite direction, lending support to presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. At first glance, Trump is a surprising choice. After all, the media narrative presents Trump and Sanders
The #NeverTrump movement is dead. Squashed, as it were, by a new party rule. A 77-21 vote in the RNC Rules committee Thursday effectively banned “conscience voting” for delegates to the Convention, ending the movement among delegates to vote for someone, anyone, other than Donald Trump. The movement was spearheaded
“Americans vote for their president.” Well, yes and no. America’s presidential election system relies on the Electoral College, a group of men and women chosen by state parties to vote in their favor. When Americans go to the polls, they choose their candidate of choice, and trust that the
A July 11 federal court case in Richmond, Virginia, comes in the midst of much debate over delegate rules, and has the potential to turn the tables on Trump at the GOP convention. Virginia RNC delegate Carroll Correll Jr., backed by the Citizens in Charge Foundation, sued Virginia Attorney General
Third party candidates like Jill Stein (Green Party) and Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party) face a major hurdle to political legitimacy : not being included in national polls that determine debate eligibility. Historically, third party candidates have had a difficult time establishing name recognition. Media coverage, mega donors, and attention tend to
third par·ty noun: a person or group besides the two primarily involved in a situation, especially a dispute. Almost since the beginning of the American Republic, voters have had a third choice. A party that wasn’t ruled by the power classes, the Democrats and Republicans. A party that
California Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced Wednesday that a new election reform bill, SB 450, has cleared the State Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee. According to Padilla, the purpose of the bill is to “make the voting experience smoother and more convenient” as it provides more options for voters
To date, seventeen Democratic State Conventions, one legislative district convention, and one county convention have voted to either abolish or reform superdelegates. Following frustration voiced by Bernie Sanders and his supporters, Maine was the first state to pass a resolution at their convention in early May, followed closely by Alaska.