As another independently minded American, I agree with your assessment that “independent” voters are considered “second-class citizens” on Election Day. As my 18th birthday approached, registering to vote was what I was most excited about – but also something I was concerned about. How should I register?
Being a Kentuckian means that I couldn’t vote during primaries if I registered as an “independent.” I was (and still am) a young man just getting involved in the political process, so I didn’t just want to be left out. I didn’t identify with either political party, but I was left to pick the lesser of the two evils. Sometimes I regret that decision and I’ve decided that someday, once I’m over that new-to-civil-engagement feeling, I’ll change my registration to “independent.”
As for the argument that “independent” voters are simply indecisive: America was meant to be a melting pot of many peoples and ideas, not two arbitrary groups of people that share the same opinions. “Independents” get to make a choice without regard to loyalties.
I, too, have several reasons for considering myself an “independent.” Personally and politically, my opinions tend not to fit in some strict box of ideas. And also professionally, I’ve irritated many family and friends by refusing to tell them how I registered. The less conceived bias for a journalist, the better.
As another independently minded American, I agree with your assessment that “independent” voters are considered “second-class citizens” on Election Day. As my 18th birthday approached, registering to vote was what I was most excited about – but also something I was concerned about. How should I register?
Being a Kentuckian means that I couldn’t vote during primaries if I registered as an “independent.” I was (and still am) a young man just getting involved in the political process, so I didn’t just want to be left out. I didn’t identify with either political party, but I was left to pick the lesser of the two evils. Sometimes I regret that decision and I’ve decided that someday, once I’m over that new-to-civil-engagement feeling, I’ll change my registration to “independent.”
As for the argument that “independent” voters are simply indecisive: America was meant to be a melting pot of many peoples and ideas, not two arbitrary groups of people that share the same opinions. “Independents” get to make a choice without regard to loyalties.
I, too, have several reasons for considering myself an “independent.” Personally and politically, my opinions tend not to fit in some strict box of ideas. And also professionally, I’ve irritated many family and friends by refusing to tell them how I registered. The less conceived bias for a journalist, the better.