The Independent View: Independents Launch Campaign to Lobby Congress

Independentvoting.org has a new campaign calling on Congress to conduct hearings into the structural biases against independent voters has gotten off to a promising and eventful start. Democracy wins when independents are included.

The Bill of Particulars is a call for Congressional Hearings:

VOTER RIGHTS VS PARTY RIGHTS, INDEPENDENT VOTERS TREATED AS SECOND CLASS CITIZENS which highlights the various ways independents are disadvantaged. The Bill of Particulars was developed by a committee led by Steve Richardson of VA, and included Kim Wright, SD, Carl Farmer, RI; Bryan Puertas, NY and Catana Barnes, NV.

Click the above link to read the Bill of Particulars.

Michael Lewis and William Bowe from Independent Kentucky (IK) met with Congressman John Yarmouth. IK has been leading a fight to open the primaries. Said Lewis "We highlighted how Kentucky and other states in this nation are keeping willing voters out of the process. We informed him we are going to bring him petitions and postcards from people in his district who support these issues." Rep. Yarmouth acknowledged that open primaries create a more representative government.

New York County Independence Party Chair Cathy Stewart, and Vice Chair, Alvaader Frazier, Esq. met with Congressman Edolphus Towns on June 7th. Rep. Towns from Brooklyn, who is very familiar with the grassroots organizing record of the Independence Party in New York City, is a member of the Subcommittee on Government Organization, Efficiency and Financial Management. Towns unhesitantly said that he would like to help, that Congress should hold hearings to explore the barriers independents face, and that it is important to work to expand the number of people that are participating. He indicated that if he were still the chair of the committee, he would just hold the hearings, but since he is not, he has to request hearings. Frazier commented: "It is left to us ordinary Americans to work for a more perfect democracy and the inclusion of all citizens in the democratic processes of our government. This campaign will take us closer to the structural reforms we as progressive independent leaders have been working/fighting and demanding for decades. Congressman Towns support signals that this campaign can succeed and Congressional hearings are in reach."

Catana Barnes of Independent Voters of Nevada (IVON) met with the chief of staff for Senator Dean Heller who promised to brief Senator Heller about IVON's wishes for him to push for Congressional Hearings. The staffer confirmed that sending letters to the Senator will really make a difference, so Catana is hitting the streets to gather dozens of letters.

Mike Pickering and Murray Dabby of Georgia Independent Voters collected 24 signed letters in an hour and a half outside the Virginia-Highland Arts & Crafts Festival fairground in Atlanta. Dabby noted that many people, Democrats and Republicans included, were responsive to the call for hearings. They also met many strong independents who were glad to learn of a national effort to organize independents.

Summer fairs are in swing and Michael Lewis, Alex Kemble and the Independent Kentucky team set up a booth at both the New Castle Spring Fling and the Hillview City Fair. Housed with an attractive Independent Kentucky banner and a flat screen TV which featured Lewis on CNN talking about open primaries, the crew gathered dozens of signatures on letters to Congress and a petition to support open primaries.

There are countless ways to reach out to others and build this campaign. Bob Friedman of Independent Alabama sent an email to his network asking them to write to their Congress members.

At a house party held in San Francsico, California at the home of Aaron Hammon, Jason Olson of Independentvoice.org reported that most attendees signed letters on the spot and also promised to email the letter to their networks.

100 Letters were signed at the New York City Independence Party's Spring Reception last Monday which honored several South Carolina leaders for their role in litigation which stopped the Republican Party from closing the primaries.

Use this link:

http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1101755064926-303/Letter.to.Congress.pdf for a copy of the letter.