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John --
In honor of the special elections held in
states around the country yesterday (more on those results below),
let’s have a frank discussion about state politics. Here’s an
interesting stat for you: of the 7,386 total state legislative seats
across the country, only 26 are currently occupied by independent,
third-party, or otherwise unaffiliated elected officials—that’s fewer
than 0.4%. And why is that? You can probably guess: the two major
parties have set up daunting obstacles for new parties trying to
incorporate in a state. When a small group has a stranglehold on
power, stasis and corruption inevitably follow.
The solution, of course, is more
competition, but working through the arcane rules established to
block competition is a heavy lift. It takes dedicated teams
of people in every state who believe in the mission, knowing that the
end goal of expanding and strengthening our democracy is worth the
effort.
So who are some
of the people doing this important work? Meet MJ of the Forward Party
of North Carolina, which met last weekend for a very successful
Executive Committee meeting. A young voter, MJ says, “The Forward
Party means to me a chance to help make our democracy better and to
give politics something new that I think it doesn't have, to really
build a bridge between two opposing sides and to put an end to
extremism that's dividing our country.” Hear
more from MJ:
Walter
has seen some things, and he’s tired of all the partisan bickering.
He’s on board to create a better future. “I've seen through the years
the divisions, the fighting, with the two-party system, and I don't
want that for my grandchildren,” he says. “I want my grandchildren to
live in a country where they have the opportunity to see real action
taking place from their government to find solutions for the problems
in their lives.” Hear
more from Walt:
MJ and
Walt are just two of the thousands of state Forward Party leaders
working hard to reform the system from the ground up and inject
healthy competition into our state politics again. It’s a big job, and
we’re so grateful that good people like them are coming together from
different backgrounds and experiences to lead the charge.
OTHER NEWS &
VIEWS
Ranked-choice voting helps
everyone
“If the
Republican Party is to resuscitate itself, and ward off the threat of
a Trump comeback, they should implement RCV for the 2024 presidential
primary season. The Democratic Party should too: RCV would result in a
stronger Democratic opponent to the Republican nominee. Both parties
should implement RCV so voters have a proper voting mechanism that
results in majority rule.” —William Holahan in The Cap Times
More ranked-choice voting
news:
Allow independents to vote in
New Mexico primaries
“Under current law, only registered party members can
participate in the state’s taxpayer-funded primaries. Twenty-four
percent of registered voters do not belong to one party or the other—a
substantial percentage of the electorate. Not only are independent
voters denied a full say in elections, but they are also denied
participation in the most important stage of the election
process.
New Mexico has
an astonishing number of legislative seats that go uncontested every
election cycle by members of one party or the other. In 2018, 34 out
of 70 state House seats (nearly half) were uncontested. When
independent voters finally get to weigh in on an election, there is
only one candidate on the ballot.
There is no choice, no competition, and
rampant voter suppression going on in New Mexico. Unfortunately,
voters are stuck with the political whims of lawmakers loyal, first
and foremost, to their party.” —Shawn Griffiths in Independent Voter
News
More open primaries
news:
End polarization with more
parties
“The
concentration of ownership of radio and television stations and things like this has reduced the
diversity of perspectives that we’ll see articulated in public. It
helps to consolidate the stories that are told about our collective
life, and I think that that’s a problem. Once you get this polarized
train rolling, it is genuinely quite difficult to unpick that
development. For my money, I think the most straightforward way of
addressing that particular problem would be introducing reforms that
would enable the formation of third parties essentially, of multiple
parties.” —Kevin Elliott in The UnPopulist. The excerpt above is a clip from the
“Reimagining Liberty” podcast hosted by Aaron Ross Powell for
The
UnPopulist.
If you see
or hear some of yourself in MJ and Walt, it’s no surprise. It’s
because Forward is about people like you. We’ll be introducing you to
more of our great Forward state leaders, from all across the country,
right here in the Forwardist. Do you have something to say? We’d love
to hear from you too! Let us know.
All the best,
The
Forward Party Team
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