Few average voters think about the importance of the independent voter, even if they fit that description themselves. So much attention is given to the role of traditional parties that many people simply fail to realize that most candidates simply cannot achieve electoral victory without gaining the support of a sizable number of independents.
Independents are easy to define, but far more difficult to qualify as far as voting patterns and attitudes go. They are defined as voters who do not permanently align themselves with any given political party. As such, they are often found voting with one party in one election and with another in the next.
This obviously poses some challenges to candidates who are trying to identify potential voters. These candidates have to try to identify the issues that are important not only to their base of supporters, but to those independents as well. This dynamic has some distinct advantages for the political system, but some disadvantages as well.
One positive is the moderating impact that independents can have on any election. The base of any party is usually comprised of ideologues who are extreme in their positions. The existence of independents causes candidates to be more moderate in an attempt to appeal the ideological center that most independents represent.
On the negative side of this equation, there are some drawbacks to having such a large percentage of the population unaligned with the parties. Because they prevent any one party from obtaining anything even remotely resembling a permanent majority, the parties trade power back and forth. The result is that very little of consequence actually gets accomplished over time.
Still, the benefits of having that many truly nonaligned voters far outweighs the drawbacks in most analyst's estimation. Because they tend to contribute to a sustained level of moderation in the political realm, the independent voter population remain a vitally important part of the electorate.
Independents are easy to define, but far more difficult to qualify as far as voting patterns and attitudes go. They are defined as voters who do not permanently align themselves with any given political party. As such, they are often found voting with one party in one election and with another in the next.
This obviously poses some challenges to candidates who are trying to identify potential voters. These candidates have to try to identify the issues that are important not only to their base of supporters, but to those independents as well. This dynamic has some distinct advantages for the political system, but some disadvantages as well.
One positive is the moderating impact that independents can have on any election. The base of any party is usually comprised of ideologues who are extreme in their positions. The existence of independents causes candidates to be more moderate in an attempt to appeal the ideological center that most independents represent.
On the negative side of this equation, there are some drawbacks to having such a large percentage of the population unaligned with the parties. Because they prevent any one party from obtaining anything even remotely resembling a permanent majority, the parties trade power back and forth. The result is that very little of consequence actually gets accomplished over time.
Still, the benefits of having that many truly nonaligned voters far outweighs the drawbacks in most analyst's estimation. Because they tend to contribute to a sustained level of moderation in the political realm, the independent voter population remain a vitally important part of the electorate.
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