Democratic and Republican gamesmanship hampers voter access for Independents

It is not really voter and ballot access, but rather their own self-preservation that major party politicians care most about. The fact is that elections are rigged by politicians, for politicians, because the two-party system encourages partisan gamesmanship above all else.

As the November elections approach, the constitutionality of the voter ID law is in hot debate. Shortly, the issue will be decided upon by a judge.

Democrats claim that the voter ID law is a Republican tactic to block voter access, and this opinion is quietly held by non-partisan groups as well. However, Democrats are just as guilty of using tactics to block voter and ballot access, and they send up an outcry for voter’s rights only when votes for their own party are threatened.

For example, the Voters Choice Act and two open-primaries bills have languished for years in our Pa. legislature with almost no support from either major party. This insures that independent voters (at least 10 percent of voters in Pennsylvania) continue to pay taxes for the critical first rounds of the voting process but are blocked from voting in them, and at the same time, alternative candidates are systematically thwarted from ever even getting their names on election ballots. On top of these inequities, there is redistricting/gerrymandering by the major parties.

It is not really voter and ballot access, but rather their own self-preservation that major party politicians care most about. The fact is that elections are rigged by politicians, for politicians, because the two-party system encourages partisan gamesmanship above all else.

We need real reforms for our political process so that voters have more choice, more voice, and more power than the two-party system allows. Voters in agreement with this assessment should voice their support for the Voters Choice Act and the open-primaries bills.