News Category: In the News

Frustrated but Engaged: Gen Z Attitudes on Voting, Parties and Issues in 2024

Arizona State University’s Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy released a new report, “Frustrated but Engaged: Gen Z Attitudes on Voting, Parties and Issues in 2024.”  The report is co-authored by Co-Directors of the Center, Dr. Thom Reilly and Independent Voting President Jackie Salit, along with Dan Hunting and  Cathy Stewart, Vice President for National Development at Independent Voting, and corroborates findings that young voters are the fastest growing constituency of independents in the country.

Find and download the report here

 

Why is it so hard to know how many independent voters there are?

Dr. Thom Reilly, co-director with Jackie Salit of the Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy at ASU, argues that there’s a need to study independent voters through a new lens.

“So while there’s not consensus on how many independent voters there are in the U.S., their numbers do seem to be growing. The increase may require scholars, media outlets and the public to shift their traditional two-party view of American politics. It’s possible that the long-standing survey questions are no longer – or maybe never were – actually good at identifying political views of independent voters.

Read the article on The Conversation here

Can Independents Be a Bridge Over Our Partisan Divide?

Insightful piece on the role of independents by Thom Reilly, co-director with Jackie Salit of the Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy at ASU

“Our findings show that independents have social networks that are structurally different from those of partisans. Specifically, we found that both Democratic and Republican respondents were more likely to frequently talk about politics with independents than with members of the opposing party.”

Read the article in Gathering.Com

 

Fusion voting brings more people to the polls – The Fulcrum

In a recent article published by The Fulcrum, Wayne Griffin, chair of the Independence Party of South Carolina, denounces a bill aimed at abolishing fusion voting in South Carolina and outlines the impact the bill would have if enacted into law:

“Abolishing fusion would hurt the voters of our state, especially those in the African American community. Fusion allows for the building of electoral coalitions that include minor political parties along with the Democrats or Republicans, coalitions that appeal to the fastest growing (and often largest) group of voters: independents.”

Read the full article here.

Virginia’s results are no mystery, if you know your election history – The Fulcrum

Either party could capture the middle if they studied Ross Perot’s 1992 presidential run, writes Independent Voting President Jacqueline Salit in her recent article in The Fulcrum, published November 19, 2021.

“Flash forward to 2021. That third force has not congealed in traditional ways, yet. But independents who were 34 percent of the electorate in 1993 and are 41 percent today are deciding important elections from top to bottom. Isn’t it time for the Democrats — and the Republicans — to study this history and adjust their playbooks accordingly?”

Read the full article here.

 

Independents Exercise Increasing Control Over Democratic, Republican Candidates – U.S. News & World Report

It’s time to recognize the power of independent voters.

“We are at something of an inflection point,” says Independent Voting President Jacqueline Salit in an article published today by U.S. News and World Report. But while the power of independents in America’s two-party system is growing, independents believe the system needs to change. Says Open Primaries President John Opdycke, “People who are going independent are not looking for a third party. They’re looking for an end to party politics.”

Read the full article here.