Closed party primaries have shifted political power from mainstream Americans to the lunatic fringes of both major political parties. Each party has a large, though not necessarily majority, percentage of activists that demand extreme responses to public policy issues.

When closed primaries are held, even relatively small groups have dramatically enhanced influence over the outcomes. This is true even when gerrymandering is not an issue.

How important is grassroots organizing in politics? New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley argues that a decision to prioritize TV ads over grassroots outreach cost the Clinton campaign last year’s presidential election.

Some legislators in Arkansas are joining the fight for a more open and transparent political process that includes all voters regardless of their party affiliation, or lack thereof.

The North Carolina legislature approved a bill this week that would re-establish partisan elections for superior and district court judges. The bill was first filed on February 14 by Republican state Representatives Justin Burr, Jason Saine, Dana Bumgardner, and Cody Henson.

On the national level, the discussion over Supreme Court appointments focuses heavily on the importance of an independent judiciary, appointing associate justices that are not intertwined with the partisan politics of the White House or Congress.

At no time in history has the issue of “open v. closed primaries” been so prominent in the national discussion as it is today. This is, in large part, because Bernie Sanders made it a plank of his presidential campaign.

France’s presidential race is heating up -- and independent Emmanuel Macron has surprised many with his performance in two polls out this week.

This week's explosive release of information from WikiLeaks regarding the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) cavalier use of surveillance techniques are still being unraveled. The release, referred to as "Year Zero," has so far shown that the intelligence agency exploited vulnerabilities in consumer products without notifying the manufacturer, putting the privacy of millions of customers at risk.

New Jersey is a corrupt state. You could write a book about it. In fact, this reporter did. This reporter did as well.

A bill was recently introduced in Oregon that would reform primary elections in a whole new way. Republican state Representative Knute Buehler, of District 54, is the sponsor of bill HB-3140, also known as the People’s Primary.

A new bill has worked its way into the Maine legislature. Presented and co-sponsored by Republican and Democratic state lawmakers, it seeks to “require candidates to be listed as unenrolled if not registered with a recognized party.”

That’s right, it seems that for these legislators, “independent” is now too strong of a word for those who decide to run with no party affiliation.