<div><p>Shawn is the Election Reform Editor for IVN.us. He studied history and philosophy at the University of North Texas, and joined the IVN team in 2012. He has several years of experie
Open Primaries
The New Jersey primaries produced gubernatorial candidates that are speaking only to two ideological extremes. Politico reported Tuesday that in the 2017 governor's race in New Jersey, neither Democrat Phil Murphy nor Republican Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno appear to be reaching out to voters outside their party'
Independent gubernatorial candidate and Maine State Treasurer Terry Hayes released a statement Tuesday condemning the delay and potential repeal of ranked choice voting (RCV) by state lawmakers. “Maine voters deserve more voice and more choice in our democracy,” said Hayes. “Ranked-choice voting is a better system that levels the playing
Colorado voters are tired of the Republican and Democratic Parties and the gridlock they have created in the state legislature. Now, one of the leading states for independents may have an opportunity to break up the two-party power structure. These are the findings of a recent Centrist Project survey of
Independent candidate Terry Hayes officially launched her clean elections campaign for the governor's seat in Maine Monday. Hayes was joined by family, friends, and supporters as she made her announcement during press conferences in Portland and Bangor. “I am running as an independent, clean elections candidate for Governor
California Governor Jerry Brown signed two bills Thursday that will give San Diego County voters greater control in county elections. AB 801 restructures the county's Independent Redistricting Commission by creating a representative 14-member commission that is not solely comprised of retired judges like the current commission's
Maine ranked choice voting (Question 5) was approved in November with the second-largest referendum victory in state history. Voters sent a clear message to their legislators and Maine officials: they wanted a new, better way to conduct elections. So it was no surprise how angry and frustrated voters got when
Maine independent gubernatorial candidate and State Treasurer Terry Hayes announced Friday that she has picked Kyle Bailey to be her campaign manager. Bailey managed the statewide referendum campaign to get ranked choice voting in state and non-presidential federal elections. It was the second-largest referendum victory in Maine history. Bailey also
Should lawmakers be allowed to draw electoral districts to protect their party from competition? Can the courts rule legislative and congressional maps unconstitutional on the basis of partisan and political discrimination? Those are among the questions the Supreme Court is considering in the case Gill v. Whitford. To give you
Update October 3, 2017: The full transcript has been released for the oral argument in Gill v. Whitford. Check out the transcript below. The Supreme Court heard oral argument Tuesday in Gill v. Whitford, a case out of Wisconsin that challenges the state's gerrymandered legislative districts. Gill v.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxFOtABMdvU Should NFL players be allowed to kneel as a gesture of protest during the national anthem or should they be expected and even required to stand? The president tweets, players respond, and the mainstream media turns the nation's attention to this
Voter dissatisfaction with the Republican and Democratic Parties isn't going away. A recent Gallup poll reports that an all-time high 61 percent of respondents say both parties are doing such a bad job that a third party is needed. The number has remained relatively in the same ballpark
Californians will head to the polls earlier for primary elections. Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill Wednesday that moves all primary elections, including presidential primaries, from June to March. The bill, titled the "Prime Time Primary Act," originally only affected presidential primaries, but was later amended to include