Independence Party of New York City

In loving memory of Richard Austin - a fellow independent, a neighbor and friend. Richard was an active member of the Richmond County Independence Party and a NYPD traffic agent for 35 years. He passed away last month due to complications from the coronavirus. He is survived by his wife Inez Austin, pictured here, two adult children and a newly arrived grandson.

Gone too soon.

Sarah Lyons
Chair, Richmond Co. Independence Party (2005 - 2014)

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/staten-island-ny/richard-austin-9144090

A Note from Jackie Salit, Independent Voting President

In these dire circumstances, it can be difficult to think about the importance of developing our democracy, or the systemic reform issues that independent-minded people care about. We’re all focused on the immediate needs of our families and communities and the national mobilization to mitigate the spread of the virus while radically upgrading the health system’s capacity to respond. 

At the same time, the crisis shows us the deep level of disconnect between our public policy-making and the actual human needs that are arising at this time in history. It’s not an ideological question. It’s really something very practical. We must close that gap.

For this reason, the work to fortify our democracy and to re-set our political practices and paradigms is an essential part of the path to recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic. What we do today, the actions we take, the alternatives we create, will determine how well we emerge from this crisis.

From NY1: "Once created as a home for the non-partisan voter, New York’s Independence Party may soon have to be fighting for its life.That’s after the state Public Finance Commission voted to change the requirements political parties must meet in order to stay on the ballot."

"Minor parties will soon be required to get 130,000 votes or 2 percent in gubernatorial or presidential elections. Currently, parties must receive 50,000 votes every four years to maintain ballot status."

"Those who worked to form the Independence Party in New York are crying foul, including Cathy Stewart the current vice president for national development at Independent Voting, are accusing the governor of a partisan power play."

Future of NY Independence Party Unclear The party has also been plagued by controversy.

Frank Fear shares his thoughts on The Overweight Brain today at Politics for the People. shorturl.at/CDMW3 Join our conversation with Lois Holzman on Sunday, December 8th at 7 pm ET.

Reader’s Forum — Frank Fear When Conventionality Stifles and Unconventionality Stalls For me (perhaps for you, too), there’s always a passage in a reading that stands out—the ‘it’ of the text, so to speak—words that encapsula…

The Politics for the People Book Club is reading Dr. Lois' Holzman's The Overweight Brain. Check out a blog post from Dr. Holzman today. https://tinyurl.com/y623d67g And join us Sunday, December 8th at 7 pm EST for a conversation with Lois.

Going Somewhere New Together A post from Lois Holzman’s BLOG 07 Jun 2018 Going Somewhere New Together Posted at 17:27h in Human Development, Philosophy, Psychology of Becoming, Publications by loisholzman The Overwe…

New Selection: The Overweight Brain by Dr. Lois Holzman Visit the post for more.

Reminder: Politics for the People will be talking with the authors of Let All Voters Vote, Jeremy Gruber, Harry Kresky and Michael Hardy tonight at 8:30 pm EST. Check out Nancy Hanks' comments in our Reader's Forum. shorturl.at/lNPQ2

P4P Call TONIGHT & Reader’s Forum — Nancy Hanks I come to issues of democracy and voting rights as a grassroots political activist, and I’m not in the habit of reading legal briefs or articles with no less than 389 citations of court …

Steve Hough offers his thoughts on Let All Voters Vote today at Politics for the People. shorturl.at/dmuJ1 Tomorrow, join us at 8:30 pm EST for a discussion with authors and attorneys, Gruber, Hardy and Kresky.

Reader’s Forum — Steve Hough Steve Hough receiving an Anti-Corruption Award from Stephanie Harris, 2017 “The recognition of the rights of unaffiliated voters is a new frontier in the civil rights/voting rights struggle.” I agr…

Today in the P4P Reader's Forum, Al Bell offers his thoughts on Let All Voters Vote writing, "It turns out, we are not just trying to protect voters from predatory parties, we are trying to protect the Constitution from them as well. " shorturl.at/AETV5 . Join us on Monday at 8:30 pm EST for a conversation with authors Jeremy Gruber, Michael Hardy and Harry Kresky.

Reader’s Forum — Al Bell This report is a highly useful summary of key legal milestones in the long, winding, arduous road toward universal voting rights for all qualified American voters. We have long paid a terrible pric…

Dr. Jessie Fields weighs in on Let All Voters Vote today in the P4P Reader's Forum shorturl.at/awyHQ . Jessie writes, "One of the many brilliant accomplishments of this law review article is that it lays out the future usefulness of its arguments on behalf of voting rights and freedom in the further development of American democracy. Such legal foresight has been key to advances in civil and voting rights in cases such as Brown v Board of Education and Smith v Allwright..." Join Politics for the People this coming Monday evening (July 29th) at 8:30 pm EST for a conversation with authors and attorneys, Jeremy Gruber, Michael Hardy and Harry Kresky.

Reader’s Forum — Dr. Jessie Fields Dr. Jessie Fields (Center) Let All Voters Vote: Independents and the Expansion of Voting Rights in the United States by Jeremy Gruber, Michael Hardy, and Harry Kresky. This is a comprehensive law r…

Jeremy Gruber and Harry Kresky weighed in on the recent Supreme Court ruling on partisan gerrymandering with an oped in The Hill. You can read it today at Politics for the People. shorturl.at/efpT3

Please join us on Monday, July 29th when we will be talking with both Jeremy and Harry, along with Michael Hardy about their Touro Law Review article, Let All Voters Vote.

Electoral reform should not further entrench the political parties Jeremy Gruber and Harry Kresky weighed in on the recent Supreme Court ruling on partisan gerrymandering with an oped in The Hill. Please join us on Monday, July 29th when we will be talking with bo…

In today's P4P Reader's Forum, Tiani X. Coleman shares her thoughts on Let All Voters Vote and writes, "...this Touro Law Review article is unmatched on this issue, as it covers the legal case for unaffiliated voters in more depth than I have yet seen. The article very clearly and beautifully lays out how the next step in our country’s march towards full voting rights for every citizen is “the recognition of the rights of unaffiliated voters as a new frontier in the civil rights / voting rights struggle.” Please join us this coming Monday, July 29th at 8:30 pm EST for a conversation with authors Jeremy Gruber, Michael Hardy and Harry Kresky.

Reader’s Forum — Tiani Coleman The Day Will Come Tiani Coleman I envision that someday, before I die, I’ll be able to beam with satisfaction that the U.S. Supreme Court has more fully recognized the rights of unaffiliated voters…