Jacqueline Salit is author of Independents Rising and president of IndependentVoting.org, a national association of independent voters seeking full inclusion in elections. Here she offers commentary on the suspension of the operation by the Arizona Open and Honest Elections coalition to secure ballot access for two political reform initiatives for the November ballot.
Read more"Here we are," began Patrick McWhortor in his remarks at the joint press conference sponsored by Open Primaries Arizona and Independent Voter of Arizona, "On the day when 1.2 million voters in Arizona are being told that the only way they can participate in the most visible election in the country, the nomination of someone to serve in the highest office in the land, is to undermine their commitment to being independent by requiring them to change their voter registration to a political party. This is the most sweeping voter suppression effort we have seen in recent history in America – the deliberate exclusion of independent voters."
Read moreArmida Lopez, Director of Latino Outreach for Open Primaries Arizona, spoke about the independence of the Latino community at the joint press conference held with Independent Voters for Arizona. "We are part of a national movement dedicated to opening our political system so that the voters, not the parties, have the power," said Lopez. "It sounds simple but it’s a fight! Partisanship is deeply, deeply ingrained, and nowhere is that more true than here in AZ." Lopez was interviewed before the start of the conference by Ben Marigott of ASU's Conkrite News.
Read more