The Commission on Presidential Debates has suggested that they will give Gary Johnson or Jill Stein "an inch" if they get close enough to the required 15 percent polling threshold to be included in the presidential debates. However, at least one debate sponsor in Colorado is apparently not so lenient.

Lily Tang Williams is running for U.S. Senate in Colorado. However, she is being excluded from a televised Senate debate because her party's registration missed the mark by 0.023% -- barely a fraction of one percent.

Last week the Illinois Supreme Court rejected an appeal that may have ended the current campaign to reform legislative redistricting. The ruling further illustrated the arduousness of instituting a citizen-led proposal in Illinois.

A new groundbreaking poll released by Quinnipiac University found that a whopping 62 percent of likely American voters believe that Libertarian presidential candidate and former two-term New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson should be included alongside Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton in the upcoming presidential debates, which are sanctioned by the Commission on Presidential Debate (CPD).

Many of us will feel stuck with a “lesser of two evils” choice on this year’s presidential ballot. It’s familiar and discouraging – we yearn for more choices. Some of us will look to the Green or Libertarian parties (Jill Stein and Gary Johnson, respectively), and maybe the late entry of an independent candidate.

Before a crowd in his home start of Vermont and speaking to supporters attending more than 2,600 watch parties across the country, Senator Bernie Sanders announced on August 24 the launch of "Our Revolution." The newly created organization seeks to institutionalize the former presidential candidate's progressive movement and develop a grassroots network whose three state

“Those who have been bred in the school of politics fail now and always to face the facts.”  ― Henry David Thoreau, “Slavery in Massachusetts”

It was disappointing to read that Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin is spending public money urging voters to leave the United Independent Party ahead of an important registration deadline.

But it was not a surprise.

Federal law states that foreign governments, corporations, and individuals cannot spend money on elections in the United States. Yet following the Citizens United decision in 2010, some – including President Obama himself – have worried that foreign money could have an easier time influencing American politics.

I've said throughout this election cycle that top-down campaigning won't have great results when it comes to independents and third-party candidates trying to affect change.

Bernie Sanders came to this position after his primary loss, acknowledging that change must start at the bottom, penetrating all levels of government, and work its way to the highest levels of office.

Several California voter registrars confirmed last week what the Independent Voter Project warned Secretary of State Alex Padilla about well ahead of the 2016 primary elections. As a result of insufficient voter education programs and ballot design problems there was mass voter confusion during the primary, resulting in -- among other things -- nearly a quarter of a million Senate votes being thrown out.

American elections have come a long way since Dwight D. Eisenhower bought the first television advertising spots ever used for political campaigning in history, employing 20 and 60-second spots to convey his message to the American voters.

Before technology, two-way campaigning was difficult.

Politicians could only be in one place at a time, often the battles took place in the newspapers -- and the 'two-way' aspect of campaigning, especially the collection of donations, was difficult to maintain on a consistent basis.