Read "Frustrated but Engaged: Gen Z Attitudes on Voting, Parties and Issues in 2024," a report released by ASU's Center for Independent and Sustainable Democracy

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.

More and more, the Black community has become collateral damage in today’s politics. As much as we’ve gained from our close association to the Democratic Party, I fear we’ve lost even more. The moment Black America became a guaranteed block of voters for Democrats, was the moment our “special” relationship became one defined by broken promises and lopsided compromises that leave us patiently waiting for reforms that never come. If we are to truly empower our community, we must form new coalitions, separate from the two-party system, and join hands in an independent movement for electoral reform.

America’s politicians operate in a broken political system that rewards partisanship and punishes collaboration. Republicans running for office in closed Republican primaries can’t be “shamed” into changing their positions on gun safety legislation. In fact, supporting this type of legislation guarantees they will be defeated in a primary challenge.