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.
Their actions were covered in print, radio and television outlets as they staged protests and informational pickets outside polling places. Sometimes the protests consisted of one person standing with dignity and a sign saying “Free my Voice, Unpartisan my Vote” as Natesha Oliver did in Kansas City, MO. And sometimes it was scores of independents in front of the State Capitol in Ohio with signs saying “1st Class Taxpayers, 2nd Class Voters”, or conducting an informational exit poll to inform fellow Americans as Jenn Bullock, the leader of Independent Pennsylvanians did with her team carrying signs saying, “I can’t vote today, ask me why.” They were all making a simple point, no American should be forced to join a political party in order to cast a meaningful vote.