The advocacy group independentvoting.org is now accepting applications for their next no-cost spokesperson training, to be held on Tuesday, February 13 at 6:30pm ET.

The training, which is a hallmark program of independentvoting.org, is open to people with leadership experience, as well as those who might be looking to speak to a family member or friend about why they choose to be an independent.

The program is part educational, part performance training, with a focus on helping every independent better tell their own personal story about why they became independent.

There are three segments to the training:
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1. An education PowerPoint presentation (which will also be made available for post-training use)

2. a Q&A session with an opportunity to dialogue with independentvoting.org President Jackie Salit

3. A special performance training/improvisational segment with performance trainers.
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The training last 2 hours and 20 minutes and takes place via Zoom.

To reserve a spot, fill out and submit the application HERE

independentvoting.org's most recent spokesperson training brought together a group of 20 independents from all over the country, with the trainees including educators, community activists, a pastor, students, an animal rights advocate, a retired archaeologist, businesspeople, authors, leaders of political reform initiatives and independent parties, and a producer. Some in attendance believed in the need to build a new kind of political party to empower the American people. While others are independents because they don't want to belong to any party. 

independentvoting.org President Jacqueline Salit mentioned during the training: "When you see that half the country is saying they don’t identify as a Democrat or Republican, you’re talking about a level of disjuncture between what the public desires and needs and what the governing and political institutions can deliver. That gap is so huge, and I think it’s a scary situation. But it’s also a situation ripe with opportunity for change and growth."

Rhode Island State House – A Senate commission studying alternative voting methods and their potential benefits to Rhode Island has released its findings and recommendations.

The commission’s final report provides an extensive review of non-plurality and runoff voting methods, details their potential advantages and disadvantages to Rhode Island, outlines potential legal and logistical challenges to their adoption and presents methods of selecting winners in elections that commission members feel could be beneficial for Rhode Island.

 “This report will inform our legislators and the public as we consider bills to enact versions of these alternative voting methods in the upcoming session,” said Sen. Samuel D. Zurier (D-Dist. 3, Providence), chairman of the commission. “Our right to vote is fundamental to our democratic form of government, so we must proceed carefully with changes to our system. With that said, our pure plurality voting system has produced results in multi-candidate elections that have raised questions about the consistency of the outcome with the bedrock principle of majority rule. I personally plan to introduce legislation to ask the voters to amend our Constitution to clear the legal path for some of these alternatives.”

“I want to thank my fellow commission members for their contributions to our understanding of this complex and important topic, and to the Senate legal staff for presenting the Commission’s work in this comprehensive document,” said Senator Zurier. “And I want to extend a special thanks to all those who testified before the commission. Their presentations added significantly to the report’s quality and scope.”

The Special Senate Commission to Study Non-Plurality Voting Methods and Runoff Elections for General Assembly and General Officer Primaries was composed of seven members appointed by Senate President Dominick Ruggerio: Senator Zurier, Sen. Leonidas P. Raptakis (D-Dist. 33, Coventry, West Greenwich), Sen. Anthony P. DeLuca II (R-Dist. 29, Warwick), Board of Elections Executive Director Robert Rapoza, Director of Elections Kathy Placencia, Cranston Registrar/Director of Elections Nick Lima and Coventry Board of Canvassers Clerk Lori Anderson.