Congressman John Delaney [D-MD] introduced the “Open our Democracy Act” in June of 2015. Now re-introduced as HR 2981, this bill does three things: it calls for top two non-partisan open primaries for all US House and US Senate seats; requires states to establish independent commissions for congressional redistricting and, finally, makes Election Day a federal holiday. In essence, HR. 2981 is a corruption-busting package of reforms that serve as first steps to cleaning up the partisanship that is polluting our democracy. Sign the letter today.

In April of 2013, President Obama appointed by Executive Order a Presidential Commission on Election Administration (“PCEA”).  Independents can take some credit for the fact that he did.  It had been nearly 20 years, since a president used the authority of an executive order to address the issue of election reform. The 10-member body was tasked with presenting recommendations to the president about how to “improve the experience of all voters.” With independent voters comprising over 40% of electorate and facing a myriad of barriers to full participation, Independent Voting immediately sought to educate the Commissioners and impact on their findings.

During the primary phase of the mid-term elections in 2012, Independent Voting mobilized its network of independent voter groups around the country to make visible the plight of independents who, in many states, are barred from voting in primaries and to protest their second-class status as voters.