The Republican and Democratic primaries this year reminded many of an episode of Dysfunctional Family Feud and although the path to the resulting nominations ended differently, the long lasting effects may be largely the same. As Ed Morrisey of HotAir and The Week recently pointed out, “the deep divisions running within both parties at what are supposed to be unity-fests suggest that the wheels may be coming off the much-derided two-party system.”

Green Party signature coordinators across the country are reporting an influx of Bernie Sanders supporters to the Greens' campaign. How far the new momentum will take the party in the 2016 election is yet to be seen. The first order of business is to get the Greens recognized on state ballots, or at least to get Jill Stein, the presumptive presidential nominee, recognized as an independent presidential candidate.

After a setback on legislative redistricting, reform advocates may make term limits in Illinois another of its goals.

So the conventions are finally behind us now. Thanks be to God, humanity, or whatever deity you prefer. Both parties have finished making their cases for why their anointed candidate should be the next president of the United States of America. Yet as I write this — just under a hundred days from Election Day— we remain very, very far from united.

It’s been an odd few weeks as the partisans tried desperately to explain why we should use “least worst logic” to ignore all the deep flaws within their candidate.

How messed up is that?

"Let me explain. The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is. Does that help?" -- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

While trying to explain the 2016 presidential election to my 12-year-old, Harry Potter obsessed daughter, it occurred to me that the only really good way to fully explain each of the candidates was with the Mirror of Erised, a magical mirror with impressive powers.

As Dumbledore explains to Harry and Ron:

After the Bernie Sanders campaign put single-payer healthcare in the national spotlight, it's no surprise that many of his supporters are continuing to carry the torch. An initiative proposing a single-payer healthcare plan, popularly known as ColoradoCare, was placed on the November ballot by a petition signed by over 150,000 people. If voted in, ColoradoCare would create a statewide health system supported by an increase in taxes as well as employer and employee contributions.

In the weeks since the California primary, when Hillary Clinton joined Donald Trump in becoming her party’s presumptive nominee for president, FairVote has tracked both candidates’ campaign appearances. FairVote’s similar analysis in 2012 showed just how much the candidates focus on swing states that might tip the election with our current Electoral College rules.

In the aftermath of the Brexit, there’s a rising sense of imminent political change in the United States. The spectacular, disruptive insurgencies of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump illuminated the alienation of millions of Americans from our government and politics.

The British seized their sole opportunity to reset their nation’s relationship with centralized governance from Brussels. Now Americans are seeking ways to reset our centralized governance from Washington, D.C.

Donald Trump’s fan base looks different from what you might imagine. Some characterize Trump supporters as caucasian men, likely living on a farm in rural Wyoming. However, Trump support is quite diverse. 

Despite some of the comments we have heard from Trump and the media's response, women and minorities do not always shy away from the candidate. Trump has support from individuals of every demographic.

In early July, the Pew Research Center found that 65 percent of respondents said the campaign was not focused on important policy debates. A study released by Harvard's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy is now lending credence to that sentiment.