The Coalition of Independent Voters’ seeks to improve our government by electing more Independent candidates – candidates who are unbeholden to special interests. This is not a political party; it is a populist movement.
A Populist Spirit
The Goals
We are trying to:
- Awaken and tap into a Populist spirit that exists in the American People – one based on love for our country and the Constitution and NOT on a cult of personality or blind party loyalty – to return to a purer, more fundamental and responsive Democracy.
- To develop CIV values, policies, and traits, so that we can vet and endorse great candidates who are party agnostic – putting Country over Party.
- To show that ordinary, honest, plain spoken Americans can come to power without having to seek monied interests. (See the Ultimate Campaign Finance Reform).
Citizens' Involvement
As such, it requires the active support of Americans from all walks of life to become more involved in the political system of this country. We all know change is needed, and this is really the only way to make the changes: involvement.
This involvement can take several forms:
- Stepping up to seek office at the federal, state, or local level
- Signing the ballot petition signature sheets
- Collecting signature sheets from people in your area who are obtaining signatures
- Going door-to-door, and calling to raise awareness and support
- Making monetary donations to CIV and candidates
- Organizing ballot petition signature drives, such as:
- Events at schools or clubs, or at other church members’ homes
- At or in front of public spaces such as retails centers or grocery stores
- Among groups of friends in your social networks.
Ballot Petitions and Signature Drives
We distinguish ourselves from other candidates because we have to work for it. Since most of our candidates we endorse are not in a major party, we have to use the ballot petition process and collect signatures to geth them on the ballot.
We see this as a strength since we have to go back to fundamentals and get to know the people. We have to get “our hands dirty” through organizing and obtaining signatures on our ballot petitions. Given the amount of signatures required and the limited time to obtain them, citizens need to actively participate to make the changes necessary in our government.
Why We Don't Pay for Signatures
We don’t pay for signatures for two reasons:
This creates a conflict of interest to pad ballot petitions with fake or ineligible signatures. This is dishonest, and creates a situation that could jeopardize the initiative.
We want this to be a Populist-driven event with citizens themselves making the changes we need -- that people motivate others to sign and build momentum to make this happen.
We all know the problem, and we all know what needs to be done.
As Americans, we have to make it happen.
As Americans, it’s in our DNA to make it happen.
As Americans, we WILL make it happen.
Scott A. Rappoport