PORTLAND, ORE. - In a major victory for the California-based Independent Voter Protect (authors of California’s 2010 groundbreaking nonpartisan primary system), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals echoed a lower court's decision Monday to uphold Hawaii's open primary system. The court ruled that the Democratic Party of Hawaii failed to provide sufficient evidence that state election law severely violates its First Amendment right to association.

© 2016 by reclaimtheamericandream.org. The article was written by Hedrick Smith, executive editor of reclaimtheamericandream.org.

The 2016 election has come down to just one question in many political circles, 'just what makes a candidate viable enough to be included in the debates?'

This is true at the national, state, and local levels. And there needs to be an equitable and balanced answer.

On one hand, a complete shutout of only allowing the two major parties to debate is obviously an extreme, but on the other, the 2016 Republican primary showed what happens when more than a dozen were vying to get on the debate stage -- resolved only by having the 'grown-up' and 'kid's table' debate forums.

Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner vetoed legislation last week that would have instituted automatic voter registration. However, the legislature may have the votes necessary to override his veto.

It is a big week for both Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein. On Monday, August 15, the Johnson-Weld campaign dropped a huge money bomb to raise $1.5 million in a single day, while Stein and her running-mate, Ajamu Baraka, will make their case to the American people during a CNN town hall Wednesday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42gy1Dz4sfI&feature=youtu.be&t=51s

A majority of Americans believe that there is too much money in politics, including money spent by "outside groups" – those not affiliated with a campaign – in the run-up to elections. In responding to these concerns, presidential candidates Clinton, Trump, Johnson, and Stein have offered different ideas about how to reform the country's campaign finance system.

The focus for minor party candidates Gary Johnson and Dr. Jill Stein right now is getting to the 15 percent polling threshold to qualify for the presidential debate stage. However, there is another important number for both candidates, and that is the number 5.

Every election year, the Kansas State Fair is the primary platform for candidates running for state and federal offices to debate in a public, neutral environment -- and often with very large, energetic crowds.

But this year, there's a twist in the debate schedules after a very expensive Republican primary, costing over $5 million, in the 1st U.S. congressional district.

The incumbent tea party darling, Tim Huelskamp, was defeated by Roger Marshall in a bitter fight over Huelskamp's various 'disruption' tactics used throughout his tenure.

As IVN recently reported, the lawsuit filed by the Green and Libertarian parties arguing that the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) violated anti-trust laws was dismissed in federal court. Fortunately, the lawsuit to open the debates filed by Level the Playing Field (the successor to Americans Elect) and Peter Ackerman – joined by the Green and Libertarian parties – is still very much alive.