West Virginia voters are becoming more independent.
Just-released figures from the Secretary of State’s Office show that now nearly one in five West Virginia voters does not belong to either the Democratic or Republican parties.
For the 2012 Primary Election, 210,562 voters have no party affiliation, 21,505 are classified as “other” and 1,286 are members of the Mountain Party. All told, 233,353 West Virginia voters, or 19 percent of all registered voters, do not see themselves as Democrat or Republican.
That figure continues to rise. In 2004, it was 12 percent. It rose to 14 percent in 2008 and now is approaching 20 percent. Another way to look at it is that the percentage of independent voters is doubling over a ten year period.
Of course, the major parties continue to dominate in West Virginia, but the growth of independents is contributing to a decline in Democratic voters and slowing the growth of Republicans.
In 2010, West Virginia had nearly 657,000 Democrats. Two years later, that number is down to 640,888. Democrats have been on the slide for the last eight years, with the voter registration edge falling from 58 percent in 2004 to 52 percent today.
If the trend continues, Democratic Party registration could fall below 50 percent by the next presidential election cycle.
While the erosion of Democratic voters is good news for the always underdog Republicans, the GOP has failed to make any significant inroads in voter registration.
Today, there are just over 352,000 Republicans on the rolls. That’s up just slightly from 350,000 two years ago, and fractionally from 349,000 in 2004. West Virginia Republicans represented 30 percent of voter registration in 2004 and today it’s just under 29 percent.
While the shift in West Virginia is significant, we may just be catching up with the rest of the country.
In 2010, a Rasmussen Poll found that 43 percent of likely U.S. voters believed that neither Democrats nor Republicans in Congress were “the party of the American people.” A Gallup Poll from earlier this year found that in 2011, 40 percent of voters identified themselves as political independents—the highest percentage ever.
“The sluggish economy, record levels of distrust in government and unfavorable views of both parties helped create an environment that fostered political independence,” Gallup said.
Additionally, it’s no longer necessary in West Virginia to be a member of either of the major parties to participate in the Primary Election. Both the Democrats and Republicans have opened their primaries to independent voters. Those moves appear to have hurt Democratic registration far more than Republican.
During the heyday of political parties, it meant something more to be a member of one of the two major parties. Affiliation helped identify what the candidates stood for, making it easier for voters to choose one or the other.
Today’s politics are more scattershot. Candidates are more likely to stress their personal views and qualifications over the party planks. Voters have access to much more information and can make their own decisions about candidates rather than relying on the party slate.