http://www.draftnader.org/petition.php

2000-2002 107,715
2002-2004 165,771
2004-2006 26,483

The fact is that no one was supposed to even notice that this had happened. The legislation in question was the result of an initiative petition circulated by Republican leaders purporting to deal with the problem of illegal voter registration, a problem created by party leadership when they did away with deputy registrars in the state after being caught dismissing all independent deputy registrars by legislation requiring that deputy registrars be recommended by the chairman of a political party in 1988. This made it possible for anyone, including illegal aliens and convicted felons, to go to a County Recorder in Arizona, obtain voter registration forms, and register voters. Having created this problem, party leaders found it necessary to change the voter registration form in 2005, but the only real change on the form was removal of the option to register independent. Illegal aliens are still free to go to County Recorders, obtain voter registration forms, and register voters. Whether any have actually done this is questionable, but it certainly gives party politicians an excuse to make any changes they deem necessary to halt voter registration if citizens are registering as independent voters.
The problem is that they were caught red-handed once again, and independent voters nationwide are aware of this tactic used by political parties to keep independent Americans from registering to vote outside of political party control because independent voters will continue to publicize this, notwithstanding the news media will not publish these statistics obtained from the Arizona Secretary of State for independent voter registration.
The American electoral system depends on two factors that political parties continually try to eliminate here in America, candidates for office and voters to elect them. In the end, all it will take this election to defeat political parties and their corrupt candidates will be registration of voters. They have made their base too narrow by exclusion. People will register independent when they are given an opportunity.

Thank you for writing this! I will be reading your books so very soon, I hope. (As soon as both book and free-time decide to talk again.) I work on the Dennis Kucinich campaign and share your frustration with Columnist Gail Collins. Now I shall soapbox:

If you are bored with a Presidential candidate - they aren’t doing their job. Were people bored with Kennedy or Roosevelt? Well, maybe - but I can assure you than Clinton isn’t a Kennedy; Obama isn’t a Roosevelt; and Edwards isn’t even Garfield. (At no offense to Garfield, please.) Garfield was a sustainer of a neglected system as Clinton, Obama, Edwards, and Yucca-Mountain-Richardson would be.

(Look up Richardson’s record on Yucca Mountain and then listen to what he said in Nevada; or watch Edwards talk about getting rid of wiretapping at Iowa’s Heartland Forum after having been responsible for authoring the bill that provided it; Obama really hasn’t done much in the Senate yet - besides missing almost 80% of Senate votes since September; and Clinton supports NAFTA, Iraq, Iran, Assault Weapons, For-Profit Healthcare, LGBTQ Segregation in the Military - which begs the question as to why her title reads “Democrat.”)

Don’t take my word for it. Elect them. Then deal with four years of falling behind Europe, Canada, India, China, Australia.

Again. And Again.

The battle of the opportunists may not come to an end this election. Clinton with her move to New York to run for Senate in her 6 year-plan, Obama as a cheesy stump-speechifier in charge of fixing Illinois’ potholes encouraging people to get behind unspecific “change,” and Edwards as the only populist with a 29,000 sq. ft. house.

Anyways, Thank you for letting me ramble. I appreciate your style, your substance, and your candidacy.

Sincerely,

Sanjay Seth