In Gallup's first review since the midterm elections of public opinion regarding the most important problem facing America, government was the number one answer given by respondents, with 19% or 1 in 5 respondents saying some aspect of the federal government is the top problem facing the U.S. today:

It is unclear whether or not voters can expect a slow political news cycle in the final of 2018. Congress was expected to pass a temporary funding bill that would kick the can down the road another few months before another budget fight dominates the headlines.

In the midst of the partisan competition of who can brand this disaster in governance against the other side better, there are nonpartisan news items that are worth noting that are not getting any attention from cable and other mainstream media outlets.

Abuse of power stopped by citizens, that’s a good sign of the health of our democracy, and it happened in New Jersey this past weekend when state legislative leaders were forced off a plan to permanently gerrymander Democratic control. It’s an even better sign that the citizen groups doing the stopping were on the side that would have benefited politically from the power grab.

San Diego, Calif.- Sweetwater High School District officials knowingly covered up the district's financial crisis, so say state officials after a damning audit of the Sweetwater School District's finances.

The state’s Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) has even suggested some district employees may have committed criminal fraud.

FCMAT’s chief executive officer Michael Fine said the district’s accounting system was doctored to create the impression the district had more money than it really did.

San Diego, Calif.- Chad Peace is an election law attorney, national campaign strategist and representative for the Independent Voter Project.

Update 12/20/18: Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap certified the results for Maine's 2nd Congressional District and sent the results to Congress. US Rep.-elect Jared Golden will be sworn in on January 3.

San Diego, Calif.- Chad Peace is an election law attorney, national campaign strategist and representative for the Independent Voter Project.

62 Somalians were killed in four U.S. precision airstrikes over the weekend, the U.S. military said in a statement Monday.

Those of us who inhabit the space in American politics between the 40-yard lines have watched with dismay as the nation’s two major parties retreat to their respective ideological end zones. As election after entrenched election passes, we have to wonder about the potential for a third party that would occupy the ground near midfield that has been abandoned by Democrats and Republicans.

Our electoral system is broken. Just look at the U.S. House of Representatives. Only a tiny fraction of seats are competitive, and the results leave out far too many voters. Case in point: almost two years out, we can project the results in over 80 percent of seats for the 2020 elections.