The Decline of Parties and the Rise of the Independent Voter

Voter turnout and party affiliation and have generally declined over the twentieth century. In the nineteenth century, turnout was high, typically around 80 percent of eligible voters. Of course, many Americans in the nineteenth century were not granted the right to vote. Women could not vote in most states until 1920, and black Americans were disenfranchised (barred from voting) in the South. But those who did have the right vote exercised that right. Voter turnout peaked in the crucial presidential election of 1896. Turnout has generally declined ever since, to the extent that some Americans worry that the lack of participation threatens to undermine the legitimacy of our government. If not all eligible Americans are registered to vote, and if only half of registered voters actually do vote, a candidate can be elected president by a relatively small percentage of the American public. In 1996, 49 percent of the voting age population voted; in 2000, approximately 51 percent voted.

Similarly, a growing number of Americans now identify themselves as independent voters, instead of supporters of one of the major parties. Nearly one-third of registered voters consider themselves independents. Some independents have grown disenchanted with the major parties. Others believe that voting for the individual candidate they prefer, rather than supporting the platform of either party, is a more intelligent way to cast their ballot.