Despite an increasingly polarized two-party political system in the United States, many voters opt out of registering with a political party altogether, instead favoring to act as political free agents and base their decisions on candidate platforms. According to surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2018, 38% of independent voters describe themselves as such, while 31% are Democrats and 26% Republicans. Within the group of independents, only 7% don’t lean to favor the Democratic or Republican Party.

The year 2020 marks the first time in history that the number of independents in the U.S. surpassed the amount of registered Republicans by 0.22%.

“I want the option to choose, and I want it to be known that I don’t outwardly support either group, because in my opinion, that’s not the full story,” said independent Sana Iqbal, a sophomore political science and philosophy double major. 

Many independents lean toward a specific party, but they choose to identify as independents to keep their political options open and to alleviate the pressure of affiliating with a specific party. Although any voter registered with a certain party can vote for any candidate on the ballot, Iqbal argues it’s important to be honest about your political values, because they may not fit into either the Democratic or Republican category. 

“I am an independent because that’s who I am,” Iqbal said. “I’m not going to put down Republican or Democrat just because it’s popular or more likely; I’m going to be true to what I believe, which is that neither party is perfect and I’m looking for someone who is in a good mind and body to take care of our country.”

Panna Warren, a sophomore creative producing major, said she respects any candidate who has moral values and desires equality and respect for all citizens. As an independent, she said she’s able to conduct her own research to find a candidate that matches her values, instead of unconsciously approving the political party’s candidate of choice. 

“On social media, there is a lot of negativity toward others who don’t believe the same things as you, and I personally don’t feel like I know enough in politics to say anything toward one side or the other,” Warren said. “I want to do my research, but I don’t want to put either side down when I don’t know enough information about both.”

Some independents like Iqbal argue that a method to combat polarization is to value third-party candidates to the same degree as Democrat and Republican candidates. Instead of isolating themselves amongst a party, these independents push for the normalization of voting outside of the two-party system in order to grant all government candidates an equal opportunity to win their respective elections.

“There definitely needs to be more parties, (but) not so many that nobody knows what is going on,” Iqbal said. “Keeping it between just two options and only publicizing and reporting on those two parties is problematic. It sets us up to fail.”

A poll conducted by The Panther found that 28% of 287 respondents identified as independents. Warren hypothesized that having a greater number of independents would create a less intense political climate, but said the chances of actually acquiring more moderates are very slim, based on the political polarization in America. Ultimately, Iqbal added, political affiliation isn’t as important as exercising one’s right to vote and participating in elections. 

“I don’t think my choice to be independent influences the votes that I make,” Iqbal said. “When it comes down to it, I just want a good candidate. The biggest things for me are humanity, honesty and respect.”