San Diego Union-Tribune Columnist Michael Smolens' recent piece, "Why San Diego's marquee initiatives might not make the ballot" is a great read that raises a lot of important questions on the possibility that four region changing initiatives might not make it onto the November ballot.

Smolens raises a number of questions including:

Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Kevin McCormick is officially off his party's primary ballot. He was the only libertarian candidate still in the race, until Arizona GOP Chair Jonathan Lines challenged the legitimacy of over 90 percent of his ballot signatures.

VICE News produced a 5 minute video for its HBO series following a Colorado diabetes patient who is testifying at the state capitol in favor of a bill which would require insulin manufacturers to disclose insulin pricing information.

AB 375, the California Consumer Privacy Act bill, was unanimously passed by the California State Senate 36-0 and the California Assembly 69-0. The bill is expected to be signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown and will go into effect in 2020.

The action staves off a bruising campaign involving tech giants Google, Verizon, AT&T and Facebook who were prepared to spend by some accounts $100 million to defeat the privacy initiative that by all accounts, gives consumers more control over the collecting and sharing of their data.

Colorado voters went to the polls Tuesday for the 2018 midterm primary elections. It was the first major primary season independents were allowed to participate in without re-registering with one of the major parties since Proposition 108 passed in 2016.

Midterm primaries historically don't have as high of turnout as presidential primaries, but Colorado saw historic participation in 2018.

San Diego, CA- The scramble to make sure the Full Voter Participation Act (FVPA) makes it onto the November General election ballot continues with new twists.

The measure would do for the county what Measure K did for the city, eliminate the 50%+1 rule and ensure voters make the most important decisions when the most voters participate.

But a snafu with the initiative language, drafted in Sacramento by the legislative counsel, has brought 11th hour drama to the equation.

SAN DIEGO, CALIF. – The United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Janus v. AFSCME may serve as a landmark decision. While traditional media outlets and the Democratic establishment are already discrediting the decision, the gnashing of teeth may be relatively short-sighted.

It was a shocking blow to the Democratic establishment Tuesday when 10-term US Rep. Joe Crowley (NY-14) was defeated in the primaries by 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Crowley is not only a long-time member of the US House, he is the chair of the House Democratic Caucus and is speculated to have been next in line for Nancy Pelosi's position.

Needless to say, there hasn't been a primary defeat this big since former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

I spoke with Jennifer Bullock, the Founder of Independent Pennsylvanians and the Director of the Philadelphia Social Therapy Group. Jennifer talked about what it is like organizing independent voters while the political parties seem hell bent on driving people crazy. Please send me your thoughts and comments to jopdycke@openprimaries.org. Enjoy this episode of The Pickle!

“Liquid Democracy” has entered the public discourse in the past couple of years, as a possible replacement for the system of government that we have come to know. Because it is based on Blockchain, it has gained intellectual traction among some proponents of “structural change” within our society.