Blog 1.3

1. What is the general understanding of the term "independent voter"?

2. How do these researchers characterize voters who call themselves independent?

3. How do independent political preferences compare to those of Democrats and Republicans?

4. What are "leaners"?   How are leaners different from party members?

5. What percent of Americans call themselves independent?  Democrats?  Republicans?

6. What percent of Americans actually don't lean towards one of the parties?

7. Why are people likely to call themselves independent instead of identifying themselves with a party?

8. What prevents independents from forming a real third party challenge to Democrats and Republicans?

9. Why don't independents actually impact the outcome of elections that much?

10. How are moderate voters different than "independents"?

11. How are "swing voters" and "undecided voters" different?

Answers

1. "The simple definition of an independent is a person who does not affiliate with the Democratic or Republican Party."

2. "As far as political scientists and pollsters are considered, an independent is anyone who says she is an independent."

3. Many Independents' views actually do align (to some degree) with that of either Democrats or Republicans.

4a. Leaners are "independents who will admit, when asked, that they do in fact prefer one party over the other."

4b. "There is almost no difference between people who identify as partisans and people who say they are independent and then say they lean toward a particular party."

5a. Gallup reports that about 42% of the population is Independent.

5b. 29% is Democratic.

5c. 26% is Republican. (Fun #FACTS: That still leaves 3% of the population as some other political party.)

6. "Only [13%] of people are independents who don’t lean toward either party."

7. Simply put, "people think that being independent is cool;" appearing unbiased makes a good impression, and having the belief that you are removed from the conflict that occurs between America's two main political parties is satisfying too.

8. "In order for political independents to rise up and elect a third-party candidate, two things would have to occur. First, people who say they are independent would have to truly believe that neither of the two parties can effectively represent them. Second, the group of people who report that they are independent would have to have sufficiently coherent interests so as to coalesce around the same candidate. Both of these criteria suggest it is unlikely that people who call themselves independents will move America toward a third party."

9. They aren't really free in thought; remember, Independents are generally leaners. Therefore, they are likely geared to vote in a certain pre-determined way.

10. "Moderate" is more of an ideology, whereas "Independent" is more of a party alignment.

11. Swing voters and undecided voters differ in their degrees of attachment to a candidate. While swing voters are weakly aligned with a candidate and could be persuaded away from them, undecided voters have no ties to any candidate and are generally free for the taking, granted one is able to adequately sway them.