Independent Voters Are Many Things -- A Myth Isn't One of Them

Voter
Photo by Getty Images on Unsplash. Unsplash+ licence obtained by author.
Shawn GriffithsShawn Griffiths
Published: 08 May, 2024
2 min read

Photo Credit: Getty Images / Unsplash+

Open Primaries continued its ongoing virtual discussion series Tuesday with a conversation on independent voters, who they are, and why we have a system that actively suppresses their voices at every level of elections and government.

Open Primaries President John Opdycke sat down with Independent Voting President Jackie Salit, who has been at the forefront of the independent movement for 40 years and is the author of "Independents Rising: Outsider Movements, Third Parties, and the Struggle for a Post-Partisan America."

Independent voters are the fastest growing segment of the voting population in the US. As much as half of the electorate either self-identifies and/or is registered independent of a political party.

In half the states that register voters by party, independent voters outnumber the membership of at least one major party. In more than a few, they outnumber the membership of both major parties.

And yet, the rhetoric and treatment of independent voters in US elections hasn't changed as their numbers grow. Partisan pundits will acknowledge that they are critical in presidential election outcomes, but at the same time say they are a myth and are really Republican or Democrat "leaners."

"When people identify themselves as 'independent' or register as independents they are opting out of [party] labeling. They're not opting out of participating -- far from it," said Salit.

"But there is a notion that there are only two things that you can be. You can only be a Democrat and only be a Republican." She added that this bias -- and I would add entitlement -- is baked into the system and is used to suppress independent voters.

IVP Donate

The parties insist that voters should have to join them in order to have the right to vote -- and in states across the country, party leaders are moving to close taxpayer-funded primary elections despite independent voters making up huge segments of the voting population.

Opdycke and Salit dive deep into this issue as well as the old narratives that perpetuate a misunderstanding of who independent voters are and why they choose to be independent, and how this factors into a shift in how people view reform like nonpartisan primaries. 

Check out the full conversation above. 

You Might Also Like

person with a voted sticker.
CNN Poll Shows Independent Voters Are More Diverse Than You Think
A new CNN poll conducted by SSRS between August 21 and September 1 surveyed 2,077 adults, including 1,006 who identify as independents. The results challenge the idea that independents are a single bloc of undecided swing voters. Instead, they fall into five distinct groups with very different views of politics....
26 Sep, 2025
-
2 min read
Charlie Kirk
PODCAST: Charlie Kirk’s Tragedy is a Reason to Self-Reflect
The shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk has shaken the country and highlighted just how fractured our democracy has become. On this episode of the Independent Voter Podcast, Chad Peace and Cara McCormick reflect on the moment, drawing comparisons to the unity the nation felt after 9/11 and asking whether independent-minded reforms could help bring Americans back together....
18 Sep, 2025
-
1 min read
Colorado i voted
Colorado Voter Registration Data Shows Independents Now the Majority
Colorado has reached a new milestone in voter registration: unaffiliated voters now make up more than half of the electorate....
17 Sep, 2025
-
1 min read
Proposition 50 voter guide
California Prop 50: Partisan Power Play or Necessary Counterpunch?
November 4 marks a special election for what has become the most controversial ballot measure in California in recent memory: Proposition 50, which would circumvent congressional districts drawn by the state’s independent redistricting commission for a legislative-drawn map....
01 Oct, 2025
-
9 min read
court gavel.
Virtual Discussion: The Fight for Equal Independent Voting Rights Makes it to SCOTUS
Every major voting rights movement in U.S. history – whether successful or not – has intertwined with landmark litigation. This was the case for women’s suffrage. It was the case for civil rights. And it is the case in the ongoing effort to protect the right of all voters to have equal participation in taxpayer-funded elections – something millions of independent voters are denied across the U.S....
29 Sep, 2025
-
2 min read
Supreme Court building
SCOTUS Considers Challenge to Closed Primaries -- Here's Why It Is Such a Big Deal
In a dramatic step forward for litigation challenging closed primaries, the U.S. Supreme Court has indicated they are going to conference to discuss whether to grant a writ of certiorari to Polelle v. Florida Secretary of State; a case challenging Florida's closed primaries that Open Primaries has supported since its inception....
26 Sep, 2025
-
2 min read