On May 4, Massachusetts independent candidate for U.S. Senate, Bruce Skarin, kicked off his campaign and 1,000-mile #Walk4Democracy with a talk titled, “Citizenship in a Republic.” The same title as a speech that President Theodore Roosevelt gave at the Sorbonne in Paris, France in 1910.

The way we elect the president and vice president in the U.S. is quite unique compared to the way we elect every other elected office. We don't elect them directly. Instead, we vote for electors who then cast votes for a presidential ticket.

Electors from each state are supposed to cast their votes for whichever candidate won that state's popular vote -- "winner takes all."  However, every once in awhile there is a rogue elector who casts a different vote as "winner takes all" is not required by law in all states.

In Illinois' 11th Congressional District, the Republican Party is looking to regain a seat in the Chicago area that may be difficult, but possible.

After months of debate, the Federal Election Commission unanimously approved the use of bitcoins for political contributions. The decision also allows political committees to purchase digital currency as an investment.

While the nation prepares for the midterm elections this November, there is a group that could sway the deciding factor -- Millennials. According to a recent poll by Harvard, 37 percent of Millennials identify as Democrat, while 25 percent say they are Republican. However, the poll doesn’t clearly examine the largest segment of this voting demographic -- namely, the 38 percent who are not affiliated with either major party.

Idaho attorney Gary Allen clearly recalls how he was received by state legislators when a federal district judge ruled that the state’s open primary system was unconstitutional.

“I stood in front of the legislative committee and told them, ‘You don’t have to do this,’” he said in an interview. “It isn’t in the interest of the voters or democracy or the state."

"I might as well have been talking to a wall,” he added.

President Barack Obama often received criticism during his first term in office for neglecting Latin America. Between his attempts to draw down American military involvement in the Middle East and the domestic fight for the Affordable Care Act, many analysts believed that Obama failed to adequately address the myriad of issues that face U.S.-Latin American relations and therefore lost an opportunity to restart strong diplomatic relations with the region.

Polarization in American politics is high among both parties and voters. This fact is hard to deny and is supported by polls and analyses of legislative behavior. What is surprising is that some have argued that there are benefits to this phenomenon.

On Wednesday, May 14, The Centrist Project launched The Centrist Project Voice, a political action committee supporting centrist candidates, regardless of party affiliation, who are willing to put partisanship aside to focus on the issues most critical to Americans. According to the organization, it is the first PAC of its kind.

First, I will acknowledge my own bias. I believe that human activity is changing the earth’s climate at a dangerous rate. I believe that the scientific evidence on this point is overwhelming, that we have already seen clear and comprehensive proof of the thesis, and that it is very possible that we have already reached a point where some damage may be irreversible. This is the near-universal consensus of people who have spent their lives studying this issue, and, while I have not spent my life studying it, I stand with those who have.