What are the main take-aways from the 2018 primary season from an election reform perspective? In summary, some good news, some problems, and some emerging solutions.

The good news is that competition and participation both increased significantly in 2018, as more people ran, more people voted, and more primaries actually offered choice to voters. The number of candidates seeking office jumped by 30% compared with 2016, and the percent of primaries that were contested also rose significantly, particular for House races (see charts below).

Soros Fund Management, the private investment management fund of George Soros, is generally very "left-leaning" and supportive of Democratic candidates, but sometimes the far-left financiers of the Soros Fund give to candidates who have an "(R)" next to their name.

I recently experienced what was undoubtedly the most depressing experience of my journalistic career. I'm used to being stonewalled with half-answers by politicians, but I never expected to get the same treatment from fellow journalists. That's just what happened when I wrote a report on why Libertarian candidate for Iowa governor Jake Porter is being excluded from a debate hosted by KCCI television and the Des Moines Register.

San Diego, CA.- Senator Ben Hueso represents District 40, a region that incorporates some of San Diego County and all of Imperial County.

In January 2017, Senator Hueso was reappointed to serve as Chair of the Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications. He was also reappointed to the Senate Veterans Affairs, Banking and Financial Institutions, Insurance, Natural Resources and Water, and Governmental Organization Committees.

The Senate nearly unanimously approved a bill Monday that would prohibit "gag order" clauses that prevent pharmacies from telling customers about cheaper drug options. The bill -- the Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act -- passed 98-2.

The issue has broad support across the political spectrum -- from US Sen. Bernie Sanders to President Donald Trump.

In the latest episode of “Deconstructed,” IVN Principal Political Analyst TJ O’Hara talks with Lulu Friesdat to discuss her most recent investigative report on election hacking from DEFCON. The two deconstruct the pressing issues with our current election systems.

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What can be done to improve the way we elect our president? The current system, where nearly every state gives all of its electoral votes to whatever candidate wins that state, is nonsensical. It throws out tens of millions of votes and forces candidates to focus on just a few swing states rather than the entire country.

A federal district court judge has decided that Georgia will not switch to paper ballots this year and will instead keep its electronic voting system. Judge Amy Totenberg took state election officials to task for a “head-in-the-sand” approach to election security, but said that it is too late in the game to switch from the vulnerable touch-screen machines to paper ballots before voters head to the polls on November 6. Early voting begins in less than a month.

We are just over two years away from the election night 2020, and we are now around the time where campaign teams are beginning to form, and front-runners are beginning to emerge. President Donald Trump has made it clear that he will run for re-election in 2020 and, while he will undoubtedly face opposition from his own party due to his controversies, he is almost sure to be the Republican Party’s nominee for the next election. While Trump is disruptive, his voter base clearly wants him to remain in office.