Independent Voters

According to a 2019 Pew Research Center report, 38% of Americans claim to be Independent. However, only 7% of voters are actually really true Independents.

But then I read further, you know, past the first paragraph. Turns out, of the 38% claiming to be an Independent, 17% of them nearly always vote Democrat. In full disclosure, I thought this number would be much greater. But then, it occurred to me, why would anyone admit they voted for Biden? He supposedly won with 81 million votes, but it is nearly impossible to find anyone that admits to voting for Biden. 

But that left 13% that usually vote Republican – another surprise to me. (I must be easily surprised) At 13%, it was a much higher number than I thought it would be. You suppose those folks voted for Trump but didn’t want anybody to know about it? Bet they do it again though! I can’t blame them, the media like to portray Trump voters as mouth breathing ignorant troglodytes.

Pew did another poll in 2021 on the subject, but my eyeballs crossed trying to understand it. The poll showed there are actually 9 different voter groups calling themselves Independents. In case one is confused where their views place them in their spectrum, they included a handy-dandy 16-question poll to see where one might fit on the political spectrum.