Independents activists from around the country talk about their efforts and where the independent movement is at with respect to the 2008 elections and beyond.





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Independents have defined the presidential race. Listen to Jackie Salit, editor of the Neo-Independent Magainze and President of CUIP talk about how independents have impacted and where we're going. Also includes reports from around the country, including Linda Curtis of Independent Texans on the March 4th outcome.



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The most significant phenomenon of the 2008 presidential elections is the large number of independents who are voting in the Democratic primaries and the fact that those independent voters are propelling Barack Obama to victory. In South Carolina, more than 23% of voters in that Democratic primary were independents and they voted by almost 2 - 1 for Obama over Hillary Clinton.

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More than 100,000 independents cast their ballots in the first IndependentPrimary.Com vote. IndependentPrimary.Com, a joint project of IndependentVoice.Org and several other independent voter organizations, was founded to give independent and independent-minded voters a voice in the 2008 Presidential Election. Cast your vote now!

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WASHINGTON (Jan. 27) - More than half the states holding presidential contests next month on Super Tuesday allow unaffiliated voters to participate, giving millions of independents a chance to shape what is usually an insider affair among Democratic and Republican loyalists.

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The 2008 Election has swept across the early primary states. And independents have been a force across the country. What's on the horizon for "Tsunami Tuesday", where independents can vote in 15 Democratic and 13 Republican contests?



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Election Analysis: So far, 2008 has been the year of the underdog. In Iowa, the voters carried two insurgent underdogs to the top: Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee. In New Hampshire, the voters did the same, though the dynamics had changed and the choices were different.

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Democratic Party Presidential Candidate Dennis Kucinich announced today that he plans to meet with independent leaders across the country as part of a process to reach out to and build a direct alliance with independent voters. Kucinich reached this decision after a series of meetings with IndependentVoice.Org Co-Chair Jim Mangia.

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On June 19, Mike Bloomberg, the billionaire mayor of New York, left the Republican Party and became an independent. This has touched off a media frenzy that a major, well-financed independent presidential run is about to begin.

Against the backdrop of speculation about Mike Bloomberg's presidential ambitions, Jackie Salit, who ran his campaigns on the Independence Party line in 2001 and 2005, penned this memo to activists in the independent movement recounting the history of partnership between America's "nonpartisan Mayor" and the ardent independent activists who backed him.

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Across the country, ordinary Americans are taking a stand. On October 7th, 2007, Jacqueline Salit, the Political Director for CUIP (our national affiliate) and Executive Editor of the Neo Independent Magazine, hosted a National Conference Call for Independent Voters.



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Is there an independent heatwave? Independents have defined the 2008 Presidential Election thus far. From independents levering their power in New Hampshire to meeeting with presidential candidates in California, independents have left their mark. Hear the latest updates and where we go from here.



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Here the latest updates on how independents - as an organized force - are beginning to impact the 2008 Presidential Election. Includes exciting updates from New Hampshire, Iowa, and South Carolina and a political commentary by Jacqueline Salit. From the June 10, 2007 National Conference Call for Independents



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Since Governor Schwarzenegger’s inaugural address where he called for an era of post-partisanship and outlined a more centrist agenda for governing the state, the media has been awash with speculation about the “Governator’s” direction. Of course the "Governator" isn’t the only one carefully crafting political tactics to make use of the growth of the independent movement. The debate about the role of independents is sure to be a story for the next 24 months leading up to the 2008 presidential race. And independents are making sure they are playing an active role in that.

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By now the Democrats and Republicans are surely trying to figure out how to co-opt today’s independent political reform agenda. What we do next is very important. If real change is to be enacted, it must be reflective of the aspirations of ordinary voters. For that to happen, independents must be organized. . .

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The decision of the Supreme Court to substantially uphold the Delay-engineered Texas redistricting has brought our country's sordid history of gerrymandering to the forefront once more. It is a vivid reminder that we cannot look to the courts to remedy this age-old cancer on the American political system. With the recent spate of failures in state initiatives, a legitimate question is where we go from here.

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It's time for someone to say...California is abusing its almost 3,000,000 registered independent voters. California election law makes it almost impossible for them to run for partisan office.

Read why one of the country's leading ballot access experts says it's time for a change.

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The big news in the midterm elections reported by every major media outlet and political pundit was that independents swung the election to the Democrats. Exit polls showed that independent voters broke for the Democrats by more than 2 – 1 largely over the issues of political corruption and the war in Iraq. But as is always the case when reporting by 30-second sound bites, the underlying back story goes unreported. . .

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Independent voters are the engine for political reform. We have to take the opportunity to support every reform measure – win or lose. That's why we're supporting Proposition 89 – known as the Clean Money and Fair Elections Act, -- will be on the ballot this November.

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In a series of cutting-edge moves designed to reach out to California’s 3.6 million independent voters, gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides has responded to the Independent Voice candidate questionnaire and thereby linked himself to the independent political movement. With polls showing that the overwhelming majority of independents are still undecided in the governor’s race, these and further moves being discussed between IV and the Angelides campaign, could improve Angelides standing among the state's millions of independents and project Angelides into the Governor’s mansion.

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Recent polling of several hundred decline-to-state voters across the state by Independent Voice.org (IV) reveals that a significant plurality of independent voters (over 40%) are still undecided in the upcoming gubernatorial election. While Governor Schwarzenegger holds a lead among independent voters over State Treasurer Phil Angelides (32% - 17%) at this time, it is increasingly clear that the largest bloc of independents has not been won over by either candidate.

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Nearly 3 out of 10 participants in the IndependentVoice.org instant poll have selected Redistricting as the most needed reform in California. Why is redistricting reform so important? When there is no competition in elections, citizens have no way to impact on public policy. Politicians don't have to answer to us - their election is guaranteed.

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Interestingly enough, more than 2/3s of the independents who voted in Connecticut’s Democratic primary last Tuesday, supported anti-war candidate Ned Lamont, not Joe Lieberman. Most of Lieberman’s support in fact, is coming from Connecticut Republicans not Democrats and Independents. The fact is: Lieberman is not independent of anything . . .

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Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night and Saturday morning, a “polling team” at the San Francisco IndependentVoice office calls California voters who are registered “decline to state.” We conduct informal telephone surveys to reach out to independents about the developing independent-led political reform movement, and to learn more about how independents are thinking about politics.

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LOS ANGELES – Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic challenger Phil Angelides have been tripping over themselves in recent days to be viewed as the “candidate of reform.” But supporting “reform” issues (while very important), and reaching out specifically to the growing numbers of independent (“decline-to-state”) voters, are two different things. So they’re flirting, but will they go all the way?

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