28 states register voters by party. The article doesn't mention some states don't allow you to vote in democrat or republican primaries unless you're registered as such. That's the only incentive to remain in one of the two parties.
12/23/11, "Voters bolt top political parties," USA Today, Richard Wolf
"More than 2.5 million voters have left the Democratic and Republican parties since the 2008 elections, while the number of independent voters continues to grow.
A USA TODAY analysis of state voter registration statistics shows registered Democrats declined in 25 of the 28 states that register voters by party. Republicans dipped in 21 states, while independents increased in 18 states.
The trend is acute in states that are key to next year's presidential race. In the eight swing states that register voters by party, Democrats' registration is down by 800,000 and Republicans' by 350,000. Independents have gained 325,000.
The pattern continues a decades-long trend that has seen a diminution in the power of political parties, giving rise to independents such as Ross Perot and Ralph Nader and the popularity this year of libertarian Republican Ron Paul....
Registered Democrats still dominate the political playing field with more than 42 million voters, compared with 30 million Republicans and 24 million independents. But Democrats have lost the most -- 1.7 million, or 3.9%, from 2008. Democratic registration has fared worse than the GOP in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina and Pennsylvania --
- the eight swing states with party registration.
Republican losses are biggest in Nevada, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania....
By contrast, the number of independents has grown for years and is up more than 400,000 since 2008, or 1.7%. States with big gains: Colorado, Florida, North Carolina --
- and Arizona, a possible target for President Obama in 2012....
12/25/11, "Dozen states will prove pivotal in race to White House," Washington Times, Dave Boyer
"Race in ‘12 seen as ‘more like Bush-Gore’ than ‘08, Democratic strategist says"
.
No comments:
Post a Comment