In June, a group of Bernie Sanders supporters filed a class action lawsuit against the DNC and former DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz. In short, the plaintiffs argue that they donated to and got involved with the Democratic Party based on its rules of fairness and impartiality.
Interestingly, the DNC actually admits that they treated Sanders unfairly. They even admit that they ignored their own rules.
Their legal defense? The Democratic and Republican parties are private organizations and they are allowed to break their own rules.
Any wonder why voters are disenchanted with politics?
That's why, on May 19, the Independent Voter Project hosted its inaugural "Election Reform Update" in San Diego, California. Led by attorney Chad Peace, a group of reformers discussed the DNC lawsuit and its relation to bigger and more fundamental problems with our election process.
READ MORE: DNC to Court: We Are a Private Corporation With No Obligation to Follow Our Rules
In referring to the practical effect a victory against the DNC might result in, Peace questions, "What’s the victory? And what’s the remedy? We’re not going to go back and change anything? Isn’t the right at stake more fundamental?"
"The fact that the Democratic Party could do that in the first place was because the Republican Party had together colluded over a period of 120 years to create a system where the only meaningful opportunity to change anything is to sneak yourself into one of the two parties, pretend like you are one of them, and cause an insurgence to change it."
"I believe that if we had a competitive playing field from the onset, Bernie Sanders wouldn’t have to pretend to be a Democrat to run in the Democratic Party, Donald Trump wouldn’t have to pretend to be Republican to run in the Republican Party."
That conversation led to a substantive discussion on voting rights in general, and the institutional barriers both parties have erected around the ballot box. They covered the bipartisan effort to close otherwise open primaries around the country, how campaign finance laws promote division and party politics, and why nonpartisan candidates face insurmountable hurdles when running for office, even when the electorate seems to want less partisanship, generally.
WATCH THE FULL DISCUSSION BELOW:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-ewdEAso38&t=497s
Photo Source: AP
