For the first time in American history, there are fewer registered Republicans than there are independents nationwide.
Data from Ballot Access News, which tracks registrations in the 31 states that require party registration, shows that about 29.09 percent of voters are Independents while 28.87 percent are Republicans. Democrats make up about 39.66 percent of registered voters in those states.
According to Ballot Access News, this would be the first time since the party system began in the early 1900s that the number of registered Independents was more than either of the major political parties.
The reason for this is a drop in registrations for both Democrats and Republicans. Since October 2016, Republican registrations have dropped by half a percentage point. Democrats also declined by nearly a full point over the same time period. Independents have benefited from both parties’ declines. Since Democratic registrations have been falling between 2016 and 2018 (0.78 percent) and Republican registrations have also dropped (0.15 percent), Republicans have had a sharper decline since 2018.
However, it’s worth noting that these statistics only reflect the 31 states that require voters to register to a party. It’s also worth noting that usually blue states are the ones who require voters to register through a party.
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