Within a year from now, Maryland voters will head to the polls to elect their party candidates for the 2022 elections. While voters from the Democratic, Republican, and other third parties will choose their candidates in the primary, independent voters will not be able to choose the candidates they want. This is because, in Maryland, independents are not allowed to vote during the primary.

In a bipartisan vote, the Maine Legislature passed a bill Wednesday that implements a semi-open primary system, which will allow voters registered independent (32% of the registered electorate) to choose between a Republican or a Democratic primary ballot in future elections.

“I am thrilled that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle joined me in supporting semi-open primaries,” said bill sponsor Senator Chloe Maxmin (D-Lincoln). “Enacting this common sense reform will align our democratic system with our shared values of civic participation and electoral inclusion.”

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in The Fulcrum and has been republished with permission from the publisher.

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While much of the country's election reform legislation has been rife with partisanship, Vermont is bucking that trend.

United States Postal Service Governor Amber McReynolds joins T. J. O’Hara to discuss the challenges of the Postal Service, its role in facilitating in-home voting, and the 2020 election in general. As a former Director of Elections for the City and County of Denver, Colorado, and the CEO of the National Vote at Home Institute, Ms. McReynolds is one of our Nation’s leading experts on election policy and administration. She now turns her sights on restoring the USPS to its former level of excellence.

Bess Truman famously said “if you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.” Well, even though I’m a dog person myself, cats might just hold the key to fixing our politics. Let me explain why.

If you’ve ever seen the show "My Cat From Hell" you know that cat behaviorist Jackson Galaxy helps cat owners figure out why their cats are misbehaving and get them back to having a mutually beneficial and harmonious relationship. The nonpartisan innovation community needs to take the same approach with fixing our broken political system.

SAN DIEGO, CALIF. - The most important story not being told by the mainstream press today is the many movements that have emerged to give voters an electoral system that is truly “of, by, and for” the people. It has not, however, been overlooked by some independent filmmakers.

It has become popular on the Left to ascribe Republicans’ recent attempts to change voting laws as anti-democratic, even potentially criminal.  There are those, such as Paul Waldman at the Washington Post, who have gone so far as to suggest that the Right has descended into madness.

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in The Fulcrum, and has been republished on IVN with permission from the publisher.

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Partisanship reached a boiling point in Texas over the weekend as Democratic lawmakers took a dramatic step to obstruct a GOP-backed bill that would impose severe limits on voting access.

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The way the US political system operates is tearing the country apart. Voters are forced to choose between two deeply polarizing narratives, and the further the two sides move apart, the more damage is being done to the country at-large.

The problem of polarization in the US is not just affecting the nation’s politics. It also affects its social structure and economy, and businesses are now finding themselves caught in the middle of the political crossfire.

Nick Brana, Founder and National Coordinator of the Movement for a People’s Party, joins T. J.