Independent Voter

10/02/2026

Does the right to vote derive from citizenship, or by joining a political party? That is the question.

Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are suing New York over its closed primary system, arguing that independent voters are being denied equal voting rights in publicly funded elections.

10/01/2026

We agree.

09/29/2026

Colorado is 52% “none of the above.”

Navy veteran Bob Chew is betting that means voters are ready for something beyond Republicans and Democrats.

He talks with Independent Americans host Paul Rieckhoff about taking on Sen. John Hickenlooper, leaving the GOP, the Forward Party, and the rise of independent veterans in 2026.

🎧 Check the link in the comments to listen to the full conversation (from Righteous Media).

09/28/2026

The election is 5 weeks away. Yet, 90% of US House races have effectively been decided in party primaries. And those primaries? Decided by just 9% of voters.

You didn't pick your representative. A tiny, hyper-partisan sliver of the electorate did it for you, months ago, while millions of Americans weren't even allowed in the room.

More than a quarter of independent voters who skipped their primary this year said they were ineligible under their state's rules. Not apathetic. Locked out.

And voters are done with it. A new Emerson College poll finds:

🗳️ 56% want to replace party primaries with open, all-candidate primaries
🚫 Only 18% think the current system rewards candidates who appeal to the majority
⚠️ 74% say Congress isn't solving the country's biggest problems, including 82% of Democrats, 75% of independents, and 65% of Republicans

Did you actually get a say in who represents you this year? 👇

🔗 Full story in the comments.

09/23/2026

What do President Trump and Mayor Zohran Mamdani have in common? More than Monday's photo op suggests - starting with a shared stance on who gets to vote in primaries.

Speaking beside Mamdani at Gracie Mansion, Trump said he hopes the mayor will be "a great one" and that he has "great potential" - a reversal from June 2025, when he called Mamdani a "100% Communist Lunatic" on Truth Social. The two discussed the Sunnyside Yard housing plan and protected status for Haitian New Yorkers.

Where they actually agree is election reform - opposition to it, that is. Mamdani said in July he is "quite content" with New York City's closed primaries, which shut out more than 1 million voters registered without a party, and in May he disbanded a charter commission that had voted to put open primaries on this November's ballot. Trump has given his "complete and total support" to an Alaska ballot measure that would repeal that state's open primary and ranked choice voting, calling the system "very fraudulent."

The party labels differ, but the effect is the same. In New York, the closed primary decides most races before independents can weigh in. In Alaska, repeal would let the parties decide whether the nearly 60% of voters registered as nonpartisan or undeclared get a primary ballot at all.

09/22/2026

MAGA took over the Republican Party. Democratic socialists are winning Democratic primaries.

Different ideologies. Same political playbook.

But what if the bigger story isn’t who is taking over the parties — it’s why taking over a party is often easier than competing against one?

When a low-turnout primary effectively decides an election, what choices are left for everyone else in November?

Katherine Gehl examines how America’s election rules shape political competition, reward party capture, and leave voters asking whether they have a meaningful choice at all. (Link in comments.)

09/21/2026

California Democrats redrew the map to flip Republican David Valadao’s congressional seat.

Republicans spent money trying to get the Democratic opponent they wanted.

Now? The race could come down to more than 100,000 voters who don't belong to either major party.

Both parties spent millions trying to shape the matchup. But did they underestimate the voters who refuse to pick a side?

👇 Read the full story (link in the comments).

09/18/2026

President Trump announces ban of CNN, MSNOW, and Politico from the White House.

Is this about fake news or media censorship?

09/17/2026

When asked "Is the United States worse than al-Qaeda?", streamer and left-wing activist Hasan Piker said yes - at least on the number of deaths - arguing America has "caused tremendous terror all around the world."

On The Axios Show, Piker pointed to the February 28 strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab, Iran, saying there is "no distinction" between blowing up a school and "triple tapping it with Tomahawk missiles." Investigations by the UN fact-finding mission, Amnesty International and the Associated Press concluded a US Tomahawk hit the school, killing 156 people including 120 students. The Pentagon's preliminary findings pointed to American forces working from outdated coordinates. Trump has said "mistakes are made" and "nobody did that on purpose," and the administration has not formally accepted responsibility or released the Defense Department's findings.

The remark landed immediately in Michigan's Senate race. Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who has campaigned with Piker, said he does not agree with the comparison and does not "give much weight to the statements made by a social media streamer." Republican Mike Rogers said El-Sayed had chosen Piker "as his running mate." GOP groups have already spent close to $3 million tying the two together.