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Maybe this is the best ad of the whole 2020 campaign
Oct 23 2020
Griffiths is the editor of Independent Voter News, where a version of this story first appeared.
Voters are constantly inundated with the back and forth mudslinging between candidates of the two major parties. The rhetoric on the campaign trail, on the airwaves and on social media has spiraled down to dangerously toxic levels, and things are only getting worse.
And in the middle of that vortex now stand the two people who want to be Utah's next governor. In some of the most alarming footage of this extraordinary political year, they're appearing on camera together in hopes of showing the country that there is a better way.
<p>Republican Lt. Governor Spencer Cox and his Democratic rival, law professor Chris Peterson, took time during the campaign to collaborate on an advertisement pleading for civility in the 2020 election — and another <a href="https://twitter.com/BenWinslow/status/1318544040699154432" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">encouraging the peaceful transition of power</a>.</p><p>"We can debate issues without degrading each other's character," says Cox, who's the heavy favorite in one of the nation's most conservative states.</p><p>"We can disagree without hating each other," adds Peterson, who's making his first bid for office.</p><p><p style="text-align: center;" id="sufn"><a style="font-weight: bold;margin:40px auto;font-size:2rem" href="https://thefulcrum.us/st/newsletters">Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter </a></p></p><p>They further express that no matter who wins, they will work together, and together they can set the right example for the rest of the country. It is a refreshing sentiment as tensions rise just a dozen says from Election Day.</p><p>In the other 30-second spot, both commit to supporting a peaceful transition of power in the presidential election, something President Trump has declined to do because he believes that mail-in voting will become a hotbed of fraud.</p><p>Peterson: "Whether you vote by mail or in person, your vote determines the outcome."</p><p>Cox: "And then, we commit to a peaceful transition of power."</p><p>Peterson: "It's the very foundation of our country."</p><p>Cox: "And we ask that you stand with us."</p><p>The cost of making the PSAs were shared by the two campaigns and the ads are being offered to media outlets across Utah to air for free — but the spots have become internet sensations and been aired with adoring commentary around the world by the BBC.</p><p><div class="x12"><div class="htlad-Desktop_Content_Banner"></div></div></p><p><em>Visit </em><a href="https://ivn.us/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>IVN.us</em></a><em> for more coverage from Independent Voter News.</em></p>
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Pandemic's made partisanship even worse, independent voters say
Oct 05 2020
Griffiths is the editor of Independent Voter News, where a version of this story first appeared.
A whopping four out of five independents say the coronavirus pandemic has made partisanship in politics even clearer — and more critical to combat.
That's the top takeaway from the second nationwide poll conducted by Independent Voting, one of the main advocacy groups seeking to galvanize the two-fifths of Americans who don't identify with either major party and view their duopoly as one of democracy's major ills.
<p>Pollsters for "<a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001JJUaY-rYNNrqsxyhhy5IwXx7IIis78Xh2qmQkZG-Rp3GwIniQGAXGA8H14nbQSReX4N97_jmAEB_85pscIDkBWi_6mw2APRPvHTEMZu9l0PyuF5g0_4QEsMiuNH5PYdiGG6oOTHm8YIQ0GSXyIHg9Dyn1-3RmaF2mxqbavmvzpU=&c=LKll_yQ2MwIlWiU525__L9roiiyXMnvu3A4ylMWavABqFiXBKoIbMw==&ch=WN87TBDTwn-l9aog15JAGOrLm10FNA3cb12BR9enWgg0Lf4J7pBE7A==" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Confronting A New Reality: Independents Speak Out</a>" interviewed more than 3,600 independent voters over more than 100 days on the hot button issues of this campaign year, from the government's handling of Covid-19 to police reform to what being independent means to them. </p><p>The most lopsided finding was the 81 percent who said they believed the public health emergency has only made the problem of partisanship more critical to address.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://thefulcrum.us/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDQ2NTA2Ny9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMTEyMzI0Mn0.dWJ3lTxjeeVRJDYXa9mfSDf08--Wvtmj_5q0wvFgwJA/image.png?width=980" id="6dd2e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="68d1ac62ce3dc2136cbfe676bbe98e1a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="poll of independent voters">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Source: Independent Voting</small></p>
<p>Three-fourths of those surveyed said mistakes were made by both Republican and Democratic elected officials in handling the pandemic. And 63 percent said the main problem with partisanship remains the resulting policy paralysis, which prevents the country's needs from being addressed.<br></p><p><p style="text-align: center;" id="sufn"><a style="font-weight: bold;margin:40px auto;font-size:2rem" href="https://thefulcrum.us/st/newsletters">Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter </a></p></p><p>A majority also agreed a root problem is the partisanship and divisiveness that dominates the electoral process — with 62 percent complaining that a main problem with this year's election landscape was that independents in many states were locked out of the primary process.</p><p>A third of those surveyed said they sometimes register with one of the major parties just so they can vote in the primaries — and that's a condition to voting most would like to see changed.</p><p>This data is important because it punctures the narrative that independent voters are a myth. Ultimately, they will choose a Republican or a Democrat, this theory goes, and so there is little point focusing on how four in 10 Americans refuse to identify with a political party.</p><p>Independents, though, make clear in the poll that they want change. They want an equal and meaningful voice in the process. They want a competitive and fair system. And, the more frustrated these voters get with the status quo, the more active they become in seeing a transformation in the American political process.</p><p><div class="x12"><div class="htlad-Desktop_Content_Banner"></div></div></p><p>"Independent voters are optimistic that if we open up the electoral system and make it more democratic for everyone, we will start to see less partisanship and more cooperation for the good of everyone," wrote Tiani Coleman and Randy Miller, who supervised the survey.</p><p>Their polling also found 61 percent of independent voters want to explore the idea of a nonpartisan nominating process for the next presidential election, while 80 percent believe leaders of election and political reform groups should join forces and collaborate.</p><p>"If our country is to free itself from the clutches of partisanship, independents will have to lead the way." said the organization's president, Jackie Salit.</p>
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Portland Press Herald/Getty Images
Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap said he hopes to win a reversal of the ruling, but the window is closing.
Judge blocks use of ranked voting in Maine presidential balloting
Aug 26 2020
Griffiths is the editor of Independent Voter News, where a version of this story first appeared.
Despite a series of legal challenges, Maine was set to be the first state to use ranked-choice voting in presidential elections this year. That has changed after a Superior Court ruling.
Judge Thomas McKeon reversed Democratic Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap's determination that the Maine Republican Party had not gathered enough valid signatures to challenge the use ranked-choice voting for presidential elections. Now, RCV is set to go before Maine voters for a third time in four years.
<p>"Mainers have already made their decision clear, year after year: they want ranked choice voting in their elections. Putting it on the ballot a third time will not change their minds," said Anna Kellar, executive director for the <a href="https://thefulcrum.us/directory/league-of-women-voters" target="_self">League of Women Voters</a> of Maine.</p><p>The decision came down to a difference in state constitutional interpretation. The Maine Constitution requires petition circulators to be residents of the state and registered to vote in the municipality in which they are collecting signatures. Since two circulators were not registered to vote in their municipalities, Dunlap invalidated the signatures they gathered.</p><p><p style="text-align: center;" id="sufn"><a style="font-weight: bold;margin:40px auto;font-size:2rem" href="https://thefulcrum.us/st/newsletters">Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter </a></p></p><p>However, McKeon ruled that the circulators didn't have to be registered to vote at the time they collected the signatures. (They registered in those towns before turning in the petitions.) The decision restored barely enough signatures for the RCV challenge to appear on the November ballot.</p><p>Because the state must print ballots by Friday, there is little room to appeal. But according to the Bangor Daily News, Dunlap said <a href="https://bangordailynews.com/2020/08/25/politics/matt-dunlap-to-contest-decision-putting-gop-ranked-choice-voting-challenge-on-maine-ballot/" target="_blank">he would seek a reversa</a>l, either by asking the judge to change his ruling or by appealing to the state Supreme Court.</p><p><a href="https://thefulcrum.us/fairvote" target="_self">FairVote</a>, the nation's leading advocate for ranked choice voting, added a national perspective to the court's decision:</p><p>"We all want the same things from our elections: candidates want to run knowing their race won't be 'spoiled' or held hostage by vote-splitting, and voters want to make choices based on their own convictions, not careful calculations about electability," said Rob Richie, the group's president and CEO. "As cities and states across the country adopt ranked choice voting, we're confident Mainers will continue to lead with this sensible electoral reform."</p><p><div class="x12"><div class="htlad-Desktop_Content_Banner"></div></div></p><p>RCV, <a href="https://thefulcrum.us/voting/maine-ranked-choice-voting-2646794034" target="_self">which has faced numerous challenges in Maine</a>, will still be used in down-ballot races this fall.</p><p><em>Visit </em><a href="https://ivn.us/" target="_blank"><em>IVN.us</em></a><em> for more coverage from Independent Voter News.</em></p>
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