With the addition of another candidate to the third congressional district race, North Carolina U.S. Rep. Walter Jones will be facing a familiar foe in 2016. This familiar face will likely be accompanied by the familiar obstacles that could keep this eastern coastal district in the incumbent's favor.

"What can be simpler or more accurately stated? The Mexican Government is forcing their most unwanted people into the United States. They are, in many cases, criminals, drug dealers, rapists." - Donald Trump

"People don't have the guts to address [Illegal Immigration]" - Donald Trump

On Thursday, July 9, 2015, the Florida Supreme Court discarded parts of Florida’s congressional district maps, saying that state legislators had violated a provision of the Florida constitution prohibiting political considerations in redistricting when drawing the districts.

Hey there. Here’s my latest offering and take on a number of items related to nonpartisan issues and voter reform efforts from around the nation. From the Supreme Court ruling on redistricting commissions to the Independent Voter Project petitioning the same Supreme Court -- and everything in between -- it has been a busy couple of weeks.

Thanks for reading.

Jeff

Sure, the confederate flag is a symbol of racism for a lot of people. It should be taken down for that reason. But few people have asked a more basic question: didn't the confederacy lose?

Since when does a country allow its opposition to fly their flag on their property? A flag is not just a symbol of ideologies and purpose, but of entitlement and ownership. When the confederate rebels that tried to leave the United States lost the war, they lost their entitlement and ownership over the property of the United States of America.

A recent conference at the USC Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics hosted by the school's director, Dan Schnur, in collaboration with Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE) Leadership Institute, provided participants with knowledge about California's political landscape.

With particular focus on women in politics, voter trends, mobilization, and education, panelists discussed their viewpoints and answered questions in order to enhance the participants' skills during the training seminar.

In Delaware County, Pennsylvania, a third candidate, Lisa Esler, has emerged in a special election that will take place on August 4 to fill a vacant seat representing the 161st House District in the state's General Assembly.

In April, recently elected Republican Joe Hackett announced he would be leaving office to return to serving as a detective for the county's Criminal Investigation Division.

published a scathing op-ed calling out Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (who is also running for president in 2016) for his threat to veto New Jersey's Democracy Act.

When it comes time to vote in the 2016 congressional primary elections, will you be allowed to vote in the primary of your choice? We’ve updated our analysis on every state’s rules for its primary elections: open primaries, closed primaries, “semi-closed” primaries, and the handful of states that do something else entirely. Click here to see the updated page.

CALIFORNIA -- Last week turned out to be a good one for California political reform and direct democracy.