Her son’s third birthday party and his preschool field trip, those are the SeaWorld memories Anna M. holds dear. As a season passholder, she gushed about how fortunate children in San Diego are to get exposure to animals up close between the Zoo and SeaWorld.

“They aren’t just reading about them in a book or watching them on TV. My son has seen a real-life manatee. I didn’t know what a manatee was at his age!” said Anna, who preferred not to disclose her full name to protect her privacy.  

This is an independent opinion. Have one of your own? Write it! Email it to hoa@ivn.us

The New York Times ran a story recently about Marina Udgodskaya, a cleaning woman who ran for office against her boss, the incumbent mayor of Povalikhino, Russia, and won. In the middle of our current elections, this headline is eye-catching. Everyone loves a story where the underdog pulls off an upset victory.

The presidential debates have come to an end, but the debate over who should run these important events in a presidential election cycle continues.

There is no question that the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) has willfully kept candidates outside the Republican and Democratic Parties out of the debates. They have even gone so far as to forcefully remove third party candidates from being in the same vicinity as a debate.

Some county registrars lock up equipment and threaten dismissal to protect California’s early votes from being tallied before election day.

The democracy reform movement is having a moment right now. There are campaigns all across the country fighting gerrymandering, corruption, voter suppression, and plurality voting.

Because of this, we constantly get asked, “Who are you? And why are you advocating for approval voting instead of [insert preferred reform here]?” As a relatively new organization in the reform space, we thought it was time that we re-introduce ourselves to you. 

With two Democrats running for mayor of San Diego, Republican voters will likely decide who will be our next Mayor… If they decide to vote.

The City Council last week discussed the possibility of filing a lawsuit that would allow for the passage of Measure C, a proposal that would increase lodging taxes but failed to receive approval from two-thirds of voters during the March 2020 primary. Although, action wasn't taken during the closed session meeting, the results from the election have yet to be certified by the City Council.

VotePact is a voting strategy that advocates that people vote for their actual preferences by pairing up with someone on the other side of the Democratic-Republican divide. So people can strategically vote for the candidates they most like without fear of helping those they most fear. Instead of effectively cancelling out each other -- one for Trump and one for Biden, they can both vote Libertarian or Green or whatever they want.

Rancho Peñasquitos mother Cheryl Canson said she’s become increasingly concerned about her son, Jordan Jackson, an inmate at California State Prison, Sacramento. 

Jackson, who was sentenced to 35 years after severely injuring his infant son in 2011, is living with bipolar disorder. The stress of COVID-19 has worsened his mental health, Canson said. 

The “Yes on 2” campaign to bring ranked choice voting to Massachusetts elections highlighted a new Spectrum News/Ipsos poll Friday that showed an 11-point advantage going into Election Day. Forty-five percent of survey respondents said they supported Ballot Question 2, while 34% opposed it.

Twenty-one percent of voters surveyed were undecided.