NEWSFLASH: The New York Times Disregards Independent Voters
Hey everyone,
On August 20th, the New York Times published an article by Shane Goldmacher with Jonah Smith entitled, “The Democratic Party Faces a Voter Registration Crisis.” The piece is an analysis of the states where the Republican party has gained voters and the Democratic Party has lost voters.
The article misses the much larger story – the growth of independent voters!
Independents are relegated to a single sentence, “For many years, more and more voters have been registering as independents or unaffiliated, sapping both parties’ rolls.”
Shawn Griffiths from the Independent Voter News jumped on the story and wrote a very thoughtful piece, “Hey New York Times, Your Party Voter Registration Story is Pretty Bad”
He writes, “The most noteworthy shift in voter registration trends in modern history is not toward the Republican Party from 2020-2024. Just like it was not toward the Democratic Party from 2016-2020. These analyses look only at shifts compared to the other party. The bigger story being swept under the rug is that neither party can truly claim to represent a majority of voters anymore.”
Shawn reached out to Let Us Vote to hear from independent voters directly.
Here is what I had to say, “The New York Times journalists, Shane Goldmacher and Jonah Smith, need to break out of the two-party prism and do the work to understand what is actually happening in this country. 45% of American voters, according to Gallup, now identify as independents.”
Briana Strong, a Let Us Vote activist from Brooklyn shared,
“For decades, the biggest story has actually been the steady growth of voters registering as independent or unaffiliated,” said Briana Strong, a Let Us Vote activist from Brooklyn, New York. This ‘independence trend’ shows that more Americans are rejecting strict party labels. Instead of swelling either the Democratic or Republican ranks, a significant portion of new and younger voters prefer to identify outside the two-party structure.”
Our parent organization, Open Primaries has been following the trend toward independence nationally and state by state. Check out their report, The Next Great Migration: The rise of independent voters.
As Shawn Griffiths writes: “By ignoring independent voters, the press can carry on pretending there is nothing wrong with the way the U.S. conducts its elections.”
Let Us Vote was established to go up against just this kind of marginalization of independent voters! What do you think of the way the New York Times covered this story? I’d love to hear your thoughts and reactions. Let me know at cstewart@openprimaries.org.
Cathy
Let Us Vote Project Manager
Before you go – two questions and an opportunity for you.
Did you re-register out of one of the major parties in the last 5 years? I am conducting an informal poll. Please send me an email and let me know why. You can email me at cstewart@openprimaries.org.
Would you like to be part of the Let Us Vote media response team? Someone I can turn to when the press calls for comment from independent voters. If you are willing – let me know at cstewart@openprimaries.org.
Sign up for our Spokesperson Training. The Spokesperson Training Program is now holding an open application process for its next session in October. Held on Zoom, the program offers independents and reform-minded citizens a creative space to develop your skills and share with others why you have chosen to be independent. If you’re interested in applying for the upcoming session on Tuesday October 28th at 6:30pm ET, you can apply here or email Gwen Mandell, Open Primaries’ Director of Leadership Development at gmandell@openprimaries.org for more information.
