Number of Non-Affiliated Voters in Oregon Reaches Half a Million

image
Published: 21 Oct, 2013
Updated: 14 Oct, 2022
2 min read
Republicans and Democrats continue to shrink and the IPO has unusual fallback.

Monthly Trends: The month of September showed continued losses in membership for the Republican and Democratic Parties. The IPO lost membership at the same rate as the major parties as well.

While the “other minor parties” category has seen the most growth percentage wise and has about the same total growth in registrants as NAV, all of that growth has been attributable to the Working Families Party, which has grown from 4,351 in December 2012 to 8,939 in September 2013 -- an increase of 4,588.

So, in reality, the other minor parties have lost almost 2 percent. Keep in mind that “all other minor parties,” including the Working Families Party, still make up just 2.86 percent of total registered voters.

Here are the longer term trends:

Party_______Dec, 2012_________ July 2013       _______+/-_________+/-%

Dem                 870,500                     848,665               (21,835)         (2.5%)

Rep.                 682,731                     667,571              (15,160)         (2.22%)

NAV                 492,419                      496,067              +3,648             +.7%

IVP Donate

IPO                   95,394                       97,165              +1,771             +1.87%

Other Minor      58,464                       62,113              + 3,649           +6.24%

TOTAL VOTER  2,199,508           2,171,581                 27,927          (1.30%)

Analysis: As long as a near equal number of Democrats and Republicans abandon the major parties, it seems unlikely that there will be any major changes. The less partisan voters who re-registered as NAV or i/Independent will still likely lean toward a Democratic or Republican position and vote accordingly.

Two things could change that calculus for these “leaners”

First, if the major parties move further right and left due to their loss of less partisan members and the influence of their more active partisans.

And second, if the IPO is able to field some capable, moderately-funded candidates to put on the ballot for the 2016 primary election.

This article was originally published by Washington County Independents on October 10, 2013.

Let Us Vote : Sign Now!

Image credit: Asphalt&Rubber

Latest articles

Marijuana plant.
Why the War on Cannabis Refuses to Die: How Boomers and the Yippies Made Weed Political
For much of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, American physicians freely prescribed cannabis to treat a wide range of ailments. But by the mid-twentieth century, federal officials were laying the groundwork for a sweeping criminal crackdown. Cannabis would ultimately be classified as a Schedule I substance, placed alongside heroin and LSD, and transformed into a political weapon that shaped American policy for the next six decades....
30 Jun, 2025
-
2 min read
Donald Trump standing behind presidential podium and in front of two American flags.
Has Trump Made His Case for the Nobel Peace Prize?
A news item in recent days that was overshadowed in the media by SCOTUS and the One Big Beautiful Budget Bill was a US-brokered peace agreement that was signed between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – which if it holds will end a conflict between the two countries that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands of people....
30 Jun, 2025
-
7 min read
Picture of skyscraper in New York behind a bridge.
Knives Come Out Against Reform at NYC CRC Hearing as Independents Rise
Last week in Staten Island, the NYC Charter Revision Commission held its next-to-last public hearing. As Commissioner Diane Savino commented, addressing NYC's closed primary system “is the single biggest issue we’ve heard this year.”...
30 Jun, 2025
-
3 min read