Independent (voter)
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In United States politics, the term independent voter typically refers to a enrolled voter who is explicitly not a member of any political party, although the term is often used more broadly to include minor party voters as well. Independent voters are not permitted to vote in any party's primary presidential elections (these are federally funded, thus the requirement to publicly declare one's voting allegiance). An non-independent voter can be thought of as an analogue to a member of a political party.
While many political pundits believe that independents either hold centrist views or views that are not properly represented by the major political platforms, in polls many independents state that they identify as independents because the Democratic and Republican Parties are too partisan and/or governed by special interests.
However, in independent discussions across the Internet, the biggest reason independents state they identify as independents is a desire for original and independent thought. Independents do not appreciate being "labeled" and choose to keep the integrity of their individuality intact without the label of belonging to a party.
Most independents also claim that party loyalists do not think for themselves. Independents believe that political parties dictate what the voter should think by providing an ideology to follow, which does not allow for original use of the voter's mind. An example independents often cite is how many party loyalists will vote for a candidate they do not like, simply because that candidate belongs to the party that they "follow".
Independents also believe that no single party or ideology holds the key to all the answers, that it takes solutions from across the entire political spectrum to solve the problems facing society.
While as of 2006 approximately 38% of Americans identify as independents in national polls, only 1 out of the 535 members of Congress, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, is Independent.
According to a September 3, 2006 Washington Post article, A Nation of Free Agents, by Marc Ambinder:
- "Independent voters comprise about 10 percent of the electorate, but the percentage of persuadable independents has shot up to about 30 percent. In the 27 states that register voters by party, self-declared independents grew from 8 percent of the registered electorate in 1987 to 24 percent in 2004, according to political analyst Rhodes Cook. Consistently, about 30 percent of U.S. voters tell pollsters they don't belong to a party."
