• Americans are living under a cruel and corrupt government in a declining economy and deteriorating environment, under a U.S. government that denies and hides these problems.
• The government no longer represents the American People—it is trampling on our freedoms, and it is endangering our security.
• Irrespective of which political party is in office, the government is controlled by powerful corporations, special interests, and the wealthy elite. It does not matter who, or which party, one votes for—the result will be the same.
• There is no federal constitutional right to vote, as elections have been largely left up to the States to conduct, with corporate sponsorship.

• Even though they are burdened by $1.5 trillion in student loan debt, the current generation of young Americans access the greatest store of knowledge ever accumulated by humanity, and they quickly share what they learn with each other—in every language—worldwide.
• Young people have the commitment and organizational skills to lead a massive, nonpartisan, netroots movement to mobilize the American People and to transform their government.
• American women are achieving their political destiny with this generation and are now realizing their full potential. They have the collaborative ability to maintain peace within the movement, and to achieve a government that cares for those who elect it.
• Written in the basic language of the founding documents, the Voters' Bill Of Rights honors all voters by providing a constitutional right to vote, it ensures equal rights to women, and it makes all votes count equally. The Voters' Bill Of Rights demands truth from the government, educates voters and future leaders, allows the People to make policy, and forces our representatives to keep their promises.

• Individuals give expression to their Rights of Liberty by granting Consent to be governed, which provides the Power to operate the People's government.
• The People always retain the Rights of Liberty, and we can withdraw our consent to be governed by an unrepresentative government. The collective, residual, and undelegated power of the People remains with them and their local councils and States of Residency.
• Looking at it from the People's point of view, The American People are resident within 50 States United of America, which has the inherent power to dissolve a United States government that has grown dangerously out of control.
• Once a corrupt, ineffective, unrepresentative, and threatening government fails to take action to restore dignity to our government and to earn public support, the People have a Ninth and Tenth Amendment right to withdraw their consent and to declare their personal independence.
• A Declaration of Personal Independence serves as a petition against our government for a redress of individual grievances. A national referendum on the Voters' Bill of Rights held in conjunction with the 2020 presidential election would be restorative and transformative of the People's government.
• As a symbol of a free People residing within their States United of America, a gold stripe lovingly added to the United States flag would clearly demonstrate that it represents All Americans.

On July 9, 1979, I filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of all U.S. citizens, directly in the U.S. Supreme Court, alleging "There is a widely held belief, shared by many, that the Congress of the United States is in the 'grips of special interest groups' and is no longer responsive to the needs of individual citizens." I asked, "is it not time to allow the people a voice in the future of their nation and in the quality of life preserved for their children? . . . is it not true that the election of representatives is now more dependent upon massive expenditures of contributions from special interests groups than upon a vote by an informed electorate?" Without comment, the Court denied my petition for a writ of mandate requiring a national policy referendum as a remedy.

Nothing has improved politically in the 39 years since my filing, and today, the American People continue to suffer under a government that no longer represents them and their interests. Compelled, once again, to do something to force a change, I filed another pleading in the U.S. Supreme Court on February 28, 2018 in which I declared our personal Rights of Liberty against our government that has become corrupt, ineffective, unrepresentative, and threatening. I withdrew my consent to be governed—unless we are allowed to vote on the Voters' Bill of Rights during the November elections. The court clerk would not allow my pleading to be filed because it failed to conform to the Court's requirements.

I made the required changes, and I submitted the revised petition to the complaint analysts at the clerk's office for review. I was advised that, even though the pleading conformed to the Court's requirements, it could not be filed because—as a matter of policy—the Court would not allow any original jurisdiction matter to be filed by an individual.

On April 9, 2018, I sent a personal letter to each of the nine justices of the Supreme Court and attached a copy of the revised pleading as a First Amendment petition for redress of grievances. The petition concluded with these words, "The petitioner calls upon the assistance of this Honorable Court in this effort to defuse and resolve a dire threat to the survival of the United States of America. The thoughtful exercise of discretion by each individual Justice in deciding this matter is crucial—as not since Dred Scott (the slave) appeared before this Court has it faced such a moral and critical question. Are we a free People, or not?" wjc