DC, District of Columbia Independents for Citizen Control
FL, Sunshine Independents
GA, Georgia Committee of Independent Voters
GA, iMove
IA, Independent Voters of Iowa
ID, American Independent Movement
IL, United Independents of Illinois
IN, Independent Hoosiers
KS, Wichita Metro Political Independent Voice of Kansas
KY, Kentucky Independent Voters
MA, Massachusetts Coalition of Independent Voters
MD, Free State Independents
ME, Committee for an Independent Voice
MO, Independent Missouri
NC, Greater Hickory Metro Independent Committee
NC, Independents for Change
NJ, Committee for an Independent New Jersey
NY, New York City Independence Party
OH, Independent Voters Alliance (OHIVA)
OR, Committee for an Independent Voice
PA, Independent Pennsylvanians
SC, Independence Party of South Carolina
SD, South Dakota Voice of Independents
TN, Tennessee Independent Voters
TX, Independent Texans
UT, Utah League of Independent Voters
VT, Vermont Committee for an Independent Voice
WI, Wisconsin Group for an Independent Voice (WiGiv)
Welcome New Visitors. This is an exciting and challenging time for independent voters and for the independent movement. Independents are now 40% of the electorate. Polls show that 41% of college students consider themselves indies as do 35% of African Americans under the age of 30. Independents participated in the presidential primary process in record numbers and played an integral role in shaping the presidential season.
And Now a Word From Independents.The Republican and Democratic Parties have finally found something to agree on. Americans are angry. And what do the parties propose to do about it? The Republicans say they know the answer. Just put them in power. The Democrats say they know the answer. Just keep them in power. But wait! Isn’t it partisan vanity that made Americans so angry in the first place? More.
_______________________ "A comprehensive overview of the impact of the independent movement on the Obama election."
--Douglas Schoen, Political Strategist
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Statement by Jackie Salit, President
IndependentVoting.org on Massachusetts Special Election.
"The Obama team needs to learn a lesson from Massachusetts,” said Jackie Salit, president of IndependentVoting.org. “If you don't attend to the political dynamics in the independent movement, you'll pay the price. That movement is in the early stages of its development and is subject to many pushes and pulls. While the progressive leadership of the movement played the key role in swinging independents to Obama in 2008, the Obama team has turned a blind eye since then, choosing instead to focus only on the Democratic Party base. But if you do that, instead of finding ways to cultivate the progressive voices in independent politics, you're going to lose elections like the one yesterday. And, you might even lose the White House if you don't wake up to the fact that there is an emerging political universe - the independent movement - that you know nothing about.”
Independents Elect First Independent Mayor of New York City. Mike Bloomberg received a record-breaking number of votes in the NYC mayoral race on the Independence Party's line, providing him his margin of victory, reinforcing the mandate for independent governance and nonpartisan reform and electing the first ever independent mayor of New York City. Read more
Urge President Obama to Fill Vacancy on FEC with an Independent. The call for President Obama to appoint an independent to the FEC is getting louder. In December, the New York Times published a letter to the editor from IV.org president Jackie Salit and attorney Harry Kresky in which they responded to a Times editorial, "The Election Sabotage Commission." Read their letter here. And click here to read the letter sent to President Obama by IndependentVoting.org and contact the White House and your Senators.
Judge Wants Trial in Open Primary Lawsuit. A federal judge ruled 9/4 that a lawsuit between the Idaho Republican Party and the state concerning open primaries can't be decided until a trial is held on the matter. Last year, the Idaho Republican Party sued the state seeking to close the primary elections. Idaho has had an open primary for the past 36 years, though there have been previous efforts to close it. "I think what's significant about the decision is that the position the Republican Party took in this litigation is that the mere existence of an open primary in and of itself violates their rights. What the judge is saying is, 'Until you can come forward with some actual proof that you've been harmed by the open primary in Idaho, I'm not going to grant that,'"said Harry Kresky, an attorney (pictured left) representing independents in the case.Read more
Open Primaries on the Table in Pennsylvania. “The fact that Pennsylvania’s presidential primaries were closed in 2008 educated a lot of independents, especially younger independents, about how our state’s electoral system discriminates against non-aligned voters.”
—Jennifer Bullock
Independent Pennsylvanian's
Jackie Salit on WLRN Radio. Hear Jackie Salit discuss the role independent voters are playing in reshaping American politics on WLRN's “Topical Currents.”
XM Satellite Radio interview with Jackie Salit. Keith Murphy, host of the Urban Journal, interviewed Jackie Salit about the independent political movement and it's role in the 2008 presidential election.
Black political independence in American history subject of new book. Dr. Omar Ali, author of In the Balance of Power, convincingly demonstrates African Americans have long been part of independent political movements and have used third parties to advance some of the most important changes in the U.S. Read advance praise for this new publication from Ohio University Press and listen to an interview with CUIP President Jackie Salit.
Independent Voters Join Federal Case on Open Primaries. Independent voters and two groups representing independents were granted intervenor status in litigation concerning open primaries. Attorney Harry Kresky (left) was interviewed about the victory after the hearing in Boise. Read press coverage and the deposition of Republican Party state chair who seeks to close ID's primaries.
New Books out on Independents. Peruse author profiles and reviews of three books of interest to independents. Doug Shoen's Declaring Independence: The Beginning of the End of the Two-Party System. Marcia Ford's We the Purple and Dr. Omar Ali's In the Balance of Power: Independent Black Politics and Third-Party Movements in the United States.
You Can't Change the Political Game Unless You Change the Political Rules. Independents are now 40% of the electorate and are playing a major role in national and local politics. Read about the issues and political reforms favored by many independent voters that address the institutional barriers to their participation and to greater democracy.
How Nader Has Made Himself An Irrelevant Man. Ralph Nader seems to equate himself with the independent political movement and to define it relative to his positions, his aspirations and his critiques of the two-party system.
Can Independents add Sway to their Swing? A desire and need among independents to be organized--not just as swing voters reacting to partisan dynamics-- but as sway voters able to initiate events and sit at the table on their own behalf is the subject of this editorial first published in the Worcester Telegram and Gazette.
Obama's youthquake: Is the Senator Leading a Movement, or Just an Interesting Campaign?
Richard Halicks Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Obama's "movement" might still founder under the disciplined assault of Hillary Clinton's campaign. But until that time, it is powered in large part by the inexhaustible idealism of young American voters, who are turning out in extraordinary numbers in the Democratic primaries. In Georgia, for example, people 18 to 29 as a percentage of all voters increased from 11 percent in the 2004 primary to 17 percent last week. The increase was typical of other primary states, and in nearly all cases, the majority of that younger vote went to Obama.
Why Independents Hold the Key
Gerald Seib Wall Street Journal
Presidential campaigns, like sports events, play out amid a blizzard of statistics. But if you have to keep in mind just one number, make it this one: Almost 45% of New Hampshire's voters are officially registered as "undeclared" -- that is, they are independent voters.
Washington Case Will Help Weigh Party Power vs. Public Interest
Op ED
Harry Kresky The News Tribune
The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard two cases in which it was called upon to weigh the competing interests of political parties, government and the American people. In the argument of both cases, surprising deference was paid to the rights of political parties by the justices and lawyers alike.
Oklahoma's Most Wanted Wall Street Journal Editorial
A veteran political activist is facing 10 years in prison and a hefty fine for attempting to petition government for redress of grievances. The latest news from Pakistan? No, this is happening in Oklahoma.
The November Surprise
Lou Dobbs CNN
More Americans than ever before are now identifying themselves as independents, and I hope millions of Americans in the day and weeks ahead will drop their party affiliation and become independents, refusing to be taken for granted by these two political parties and refusing to be taken for fools by the candidates they're putting forward.
Political Parties Take a Hit in Pierce County The News Tribune
Editorial
Give Pierce County voters credit. They not only waded through a raft of sometimes-contradictory charter amendments on this year's ballot, they did so with consistency. Voters stripped three county offices of partisan allegiance, rejected attempts to limit their choices in county elections, and ensured minor party and independent candidates equal access to the ballot.
Independents May Be Crucial in New Hampshire New York Times
The fight for independent voters in New Hampshire could be important not just in determining the two parties' nominees but also as a preview of the general election.
Ballot Access News
By Richard Winger
For 23 years CUIP has championed The Voter Freedom Act, legislation to standardize ballot access laws nationally. Last week Rep. Ron Paul reintroduced the bill (HR3600) which sets a requirement of 1,000 signatures per Congressional district. In several states it remains all but impossible for independents to get on the ballot owing to the maze of state rules and regulations and exceedingly high signature requirements.
Politicking at the county fair Times-News Blair Koch
Amid the hustle and bustle of vendors peddling T-shirts, temporary tattoos, bottles of water and cotton candy, Twin Falls County fairgoers can also find another product - politics.
This year both the Republican Party of Idaho and the American Independent Movement of Idaho are represented at the fair.
Waxachie Daily Light
By Joann Livingston
Gov. Rick Perry has yet another fight on his hands, with Independent Texans formally launching an effort to bring his tenure in public office to an end.
From bumper stickers promoting its Web site - impeachperry.com, which can also be accessed via www.indytexans.org - to a top 10 list of reasons why Perry should be impeached to public presentations, the group says it will push the state Legislature to remove a governor that it says is no longer in touch with his constituency.
A Political Force With Many Philosophies; Survey of Independents, Who Could Be Key in 2008 Washington Post
...The study is a comprehensive examination of a broad segment of the electorate -- about three in 10 voters call themselves independents -- that is poised to play the role of political power broker in 2008...
Odds Bleak for Third Party Candidate
Susan Milligan Boston Globe
...Jackie Salit, who negotiated Bloomberg's endorsement by the Independence Party of New York for both of his mayoral campaigns, said Bloomberg could draw support from the escalating number of independent voters across the country, but he would need to prove a genuine commitment to nonpartisanship and that he wasn't opting to become an independent just to advance his personal profile in politics...
Independents Rule New Hampshire
Rick Klein ABC News
For all the partisan energy in New Hampshire this week for a pair of presidential debates, the voters who could determine the outcome of the first-in-the-nation primaries don't call themselves Democrats or Republicans. They're the famously unpredictable New Hampshire independents...
Independent Voters May 'Crash' New Hampshire Democratic Primary
Heidi Przybyla Bloomberg
Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and the rest of the Democratic presidential candidates may be about to welcome a host of party-crashers: New Hampshire's independents ...
Candidates Still Take Cues from Their Base: Indepen-dents' Rise Presents a Dilemma
Dan Balz Washington Post
Independent Voters a Key to Race
Holly Ramer Associated Press
New Hampshire's independent voters -- those unaffiliated with either political party -- have doubled in number since 1992. They make up 44 percent of registered voters, more than Republicans or Democrats, and can vote in either primary, making them a potentially powerful force in 2008...
