The Equal Vote Coalition announced Monday that a historic new bill has been introduced in the Oregon State House that would establish STAR (Score, Then Automatic Runoff) Voting as the default voting method in Oregon. Oregon would be the first state to adopt the voting method’s use.

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Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on The Fulcrum and has been republished on IVN with permission from the publisher.

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Republican lawmakers need only clear a couple minor hurdles in their effort to eliminate same-day voter registration in Montana.

On Tuesday, the GOP-majority state Senate voted 32-18 along party lines to endorse a bill that would end voter registration at noon the day before Election Day. Their endorsement all but guarantees the legislation will soon reach Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte's desk.

If you’re a young voter like us, you’re probably tired of politics as they are now. Tired of every aspect of your life being a political issue. Tired of the restrictive grip of the two major parties making you jump through hoops to vote in critical primary elections or barring you from them entirely. It’s no secret that the major parties have been taking advantage of the way we engage with politics to guilt and scare us into their camp. But what you may not know is that 40% of Americans refuse to comply with this party-policed status quo.

Photo Credit: Ahmed / Unsplash

The general perception of young voters is that they are largely detached from politics and thus have no interest and don’t participate. Yet, the largest segment of the voting population -- Generation Y -- and the generation that follows, Gen Z, could completely change the way elections, and by extension politics, are conducted in the US.

Public opinion polling shows broad dissatisfaction with the current two-party political structure: 

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The ever-increasing battle over free speech is becoming a powerful dividing line for Americans. Is anyone allowed to say anything? Or are there certain words and ideas too dangerous to ever be uttered?

If you've ever wondered about the concept of free speech in modern America, this is great discussion to listen to. Adam Goldstein is the Senior Research Counsel to the President of the non-profit Freedom of Individual Rights in Education or FIRE.

County Commissioner Mark Jerrell joins host T. J.

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The conditions that allow human greed to corrupt institutions such as the American system of governance have the same elements as those required for a criminal conviction—motive, means and opportunity:

“It’s almost impossible to maintain any kind of distance or any sense of social hierarchy when you’re just howling with laughter. Laughter is a force for democracy.” - John Cleese

Independent voters have been in the forefront of a movement to change the rules of the political game in the United States. We have led efforts to open the primaries to all voters, establish independent non-partisan redistricting commissions and introduce reforms like Ranked Choice Voting to the voting process itself.