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Independent Voters Are There for Issues, Not Ideology

Esha Sarai

   While a majority of voters in the United States identify as either
   Republican or Democrat -- the two major political parties -- a growing
   number of voters see themselves as independent or unaffiliated with any
   party.
   "Personally, I've never really felt either major party represents my
   interest," Ellen Moorhouse, who identifies as an independent voter,
   told VOA.
   Moorhouse, 30, is deputy communications director at RepresentUs, a
   political and government reform advocacy group which aims to reduce
   corruption and gridlock. Thirty-five percent of Americans under the age
   of 30 say they are independent or unaffiliated, according to the
   [1]Spring 2020 Harvard Youth Poll.
   [2]Independent Voting is one organization that connects independent
   voters in an effort to build a network and a movement to reform the
   electoral process. The group's mission has changed significantly since
   its formation in the 1990s, moving away from a focus on alternative
   political parties.
   "We made a shift at that point away from a party building orientation
   to what you might call a voter empowerment orientation," Jackie Salit,
   president of the organization, told VOA, noting that independent voters
   want to vote "for the person, not the party."
   "They want to be involved in the issue, not the ideology," Salit said.
   In 2018, [3]a poll by the Center for Information and Research on Civic
   Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University in Medford,
   Massachusetts, found that just over half of voters (56%) between the
   ages of 18 and 24 were affiliated with the Republican or Democratic
   party.

References

   1. https://iop.harvard.edu/youth-poll/harvard-youth-poll
   2. https://independentvoting.org/about-us/
   3. https://circle.tufts.edu/latest-research/young-peoples-ambivalent-relationship-political-parties

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