The new century leaves American democracy in an interesting position. More and more voters are not identifying with either of the major parties and a large majority support having strong opinions other than those advocated by the Republicans or Democrats. Simultaneously, voters who felt the need to make a statement to vote outside the two parties were warned that if they do not vote for a pre-approved option that their vote would not count. For all of these reasons and more, the Montana Independent Party formed as a strong, progressive third party to bring about change and open democracy to all citizens. We do not claim to represent everyone. We do, however, hope to allow representation for everyone

Human Rights - We recognize the need to protect human rights and stop the oppression of marginalized groups, regardless of race, color, gender, creed, national origin, sexual orientation or other factors.

Feminism - We are committed to the tenets of feminism and call for gender equality in all areas. Further, we call for protection of reproductive rights for all women, not just those who can afford them, through political action.

Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender Rightss - We demand equality for all sexual minorities, including the legalization of same-sex marriage and the repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

Racial Equality - We support taking active stances, personally and politically, to undermine racism, which is still a very real threat in America.

Death Penalty - In accordance with our opposition to state-sponsored killing of its citizens, we rise in opposition to capital punishment in any circumstances.

Euthanasia - We also rise in opposition to state-mandated life. Thus, we support well-regulated euthanasia legislation.

Election Reform - In order to save Montana and America from the duopoly of Republicans and Democrats, we demand election reform to increase choice and, thus, democracy.

Campaign Finance - We aim to decrease corporate influence in elections, recognizing that coroprate speech is not to be given the same weight as citizen speech.

Voting Reform - In order to increase democratic ease and choice, we call for a variety of changes in voting law. We call for nationwide common voting procedures, to prevent a repeat of the Florida 2000 recount. We call for the institution of proportional representation and instant runoff voting to remove the major parties presumption and move away from the counterproductive two party system.

Education - We actively oppose initiatives to undermine public schools through voucher systems. Furthermore, we oppose the spread of standardized tests as effective methods of measuring student acheivement.

Environment - We strongly endorse steps to protect our environment from destruction. To acheive this end, we will support initiatives to increase the use of renewable energy. We also call for closing loopholes in existing pollution laws as well as strengthening air and water quality standards.

Drug Reform - Recognizing the difference between drug use and other crimes, we call for an increased focus on treatment solutions. We also advocate restoring discretion to judges and juries by repealing mandatory sentences. We endorse legalizing drugs in situations where laws make the problems worse. Finally, we demand the release of non-violent drug offenders from our prisons.

Party Leader: Vincent Pavlish