There is no right more deeply embedded into our country’s identity than the right to vote. It is so valued by US citizens that 91% say the right to vote is essential to their own sense of personal freedom.

This country was founded on the notion that we should always have a government by the people and for the people. And, as our nation has evolved, so has our conception of the right to vote and to whom this right is extended.

On the eve of the Democrat debates, Peter Ackerman, chairman of Level the Playing Field, joined our podcast to talk about a bigger debate fight going into 2020. Ackerman’s group is engaging in an effort to make our Presidential debates more inclusive, which is why his group is suing the Federal Elections Commission.

Worried about election security? Does the party-focused primary system leave you confused about your voting rights? Will we run into the same issues we saw in 2016 that disenfranchised and frustrated millions of voters in 2020?

In the latest episode of "Topping The Duopoly," host Shawn Griffiths talks with Kammi Foote, the chief election administrator in Inyo County, California.

Update: Despite passing with strong majorities in both chambers of the legislature, it has come to my attention that the ranked choice voting bill in Maine did not make its way to the governor's desk. Due to an 11th hour procedural movement, the bill was sent back to the Senate. According to the Committee for Ranked Choice Voting, the bill is not dead. There is still an opportunity to pass it when the legislature meets later this summer to address the governor's vetoes and bond packages.  Thank you Richard Winger for the updated information.

Update: Despite passing with strong majorities in both chambers of the legislature, it has come to my attention that the ranked choice voting bill in Maine did not make its way to the governor’s desk. Due to an 11th hour procedural movement, the bill was sent back to the Senate. According to the Committee for Ranked Choice Voting, the bill is not dead.

IVP legal advisor Chad Peace joined KUSI's Paul Rudy to discuss the ongoing problems with the presidential primary, what it means for those who choose to register and run outside the major parties, and the Independent Voter Project's simple solution to fix the confusing and unconstitutional process.

Poor Bernie Sanders. It’s not enough that he had the balls to challenge The Anointed One in the Democratic Party primary in 2016. It’s not enough that in doing so he split open a divide in his party that makes the San Andreas Fault look like a crevasse you could hop, skip or jump over wearing a sturdy hiking shoe.

As a doctor, I believe in the science underlying vaccination, and what Jonas Salk, Edward Jenner and others in this field contributed to our understanding of how immunization works.

But I am steadfastly against Senate Bill 276 because it is trying to fix a problem that does not exist.

Many people who favorably view Donald Trump and politicians like him, talk up his “authenticity” or his “telling it as it is”. Even many of those who profoundly dislike his politics, his manner, or both, grudgingly admit to the appeal of his “what you see is what you get” quality.

Yet and at the same time, many of his supporters – and almost all of their opponents – simultaneously recognize the blatant falsity of many of his statements.

San Diego, Calif.- No Party Preference (NPP) and American Independent (AI) voters in California are likely going to be confused when their ballot arrives for the March 2020 presidential primary as they will have no option for president.

The same issue arose in the 2016 presidential primary for Bernie Sanders supporters, which set off a firestorm of controversy.