June 19, 2015
JACKIE SALIT ON ARIZONA HORIZON     

IndependentVoting.org's President Jackie Salit appeared on the award-winning PBS show Arizona Horizon and spoke with host Ted Simons about the national nonpartisan movement, the coalition coming together to fight for nonpartisan elections in Arizona, and Hillary Clinton's voting rights package in which independents were conspicuously absent. 
 
"The whole question of voting rights is being redefined by the American people," said Salit.  "If you're going to talk about voting  
rights, but you're not going to talk about the rights of independent voters, you're committing a form of voter fraud." 
Watch the full segment by clicking here. 
REP. JOHN DELANEY REINTRODUCES THE 
"OPEN OUR DEMOCRACY ACT" 

 

Rep. John Delaney reintroduced the Open Our Democracy Act, H.R. 2655, that would overhaul the federal election process by allowing independents to vote in nonpartisan open primaries for all U.S. House of Representative and U.S. Senate seats, initiate redistricting reform and make Election Day a holiday.  

 

IndependentVoting.org applauded Rep. Delaney in a press release.  "Congress has a very long way to go to restore its legitimacy with the American people,"  said Jackie Salit.  "A good first step would be to pass Rep. John Delaney's bill and to put our elections on a nonpartisan footing.  Those elections, not to mention our government, should belong to the people, not the parties."

 

Delaney added: "The Congress that works best for America is the Congress that best reflects America....I want the House of Representatives to be truly representative, representative of our diversity, representative of our communities, and representative of the national interest."

Jim Morrison (second from right) with Jackie Salit (left), Al Bell (Peoria) and Kim Wright (Prescott).
PROFILE IN INDEPENDENCE
Jim Morrison, Arizona

"Following a successful career as a federal executive, I founded my own government relations/lobbying firm in Washington DC, which provided opportunities to become directly involved in electoral politics, first as a Democratic activist and, upon moving to Arizona, as an elected precinct committeeman in the Republican Party.  

 

"In both parties, I searched for moderate policies and voices but found, instead, ever-increasing partisans committed more to party ideology than to the concerns of average voters.  

 

"I am a true Independent (not a "leaner") because I am convinced that the extreme partisanship that infects both parties is destructive and is the primary cause of the polarization that is paralyzing our politics at every level.  I was involved in the 2012 Arizona Top Two Primary initiative and am excited about the prospects for success in the 2016 Open Primaries effort. I hope to put my experience in the practical "nuts and bolts" of political campaigns to good use and to help make a reality the belief that no one should be compelled to join a political party in order to cast a primary ballot.

 

"I had the chance to meet with Jackie Salit last week when she visited Arizona and her tireless enthusiasm on behalf of the independent movement is so infectious that I am even more energized."  
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE 

Join IndependentVoting.org as we embark on a series of video highlights of the 2015 National Conference of Independents.  First in the series was a video titled "Let's Talk about Myths..." and can be seen here.  
 
Produced by Sarah Lyons, IndependentVoting.org's Communication Director, the series will include videos on the topics of democracy and social crises, popularizing political reform and more. "The very rich dialogues that took place at the national conference about the state of our country and our democracy need to be shared" said Lyons. "These videos make that easy. They're short and brimming with new ideas. They inspire. Sharing them is as easy as posting on Facebook, forwarding to contacts, or popping popcorn and inviting friends over to watch." 
 
On last month's Spokesperson Training call, Lyons invited participants to use the "Myths" video as fodder and write a letter to the editor about a myth of our political process they'd like to see crumble.  You can join in simply by sending your draft letter to Sarah at  [email protected]. She'll give you feedback and help with the submission process.
 
 


Gwen Mandell
Director of National Outreach
IndependentVoting.org 
800-288-3201

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