Since President Trump was elected last November, the word “moderate” has become a buzzword when it comes to talking about the American voter. In 2016, 20 percent of voters identified as ideologically moderate. But what does this mean for the millennial generation?
Millennial voters make up about one-fourth of the U.S. population according to the 2015 census. Adding on to that, Pew Research Center did a survey that showed that 50 percent of them describe themselves as a political independent. Moderate, middle and independent are all words that can describe what the political landscape will look like in the future.
Why be a political independent?
Matthew Norvell, ’19, finds himself in that 50 percent. When asked why he does not identify with a political party he said, “I think it would be artificially limiting to the way I think about politics.”
Independent voters are effectively changing American politics one election at a time. Pew Research Center shows that independent voters are starting to outnumber both Democrats and Republicans. If this continues, the traditional political party system could weaken. The next set of leaders are going to have to break away from the hyper-partisan outlook to appeal to the majority of voters, which happens to be those who are “in the middle.”
Carly Dagen, ’20, finds the current political system binding. “If I were to say I was a Republican, I’d be lying — I disagree with many of their ideological views from a standpoint of my belief in equal rights for all people. If I were to call myself a Democrat, however, that would also be untrue, as I often see Democratic decisions as fiscally impossible. Likewise, each party is sometimes unfairly stigmatized.”
What are the disadvantages?
The word “independent” comes with an abundance of stereotypes, just like any other political party. There is no escaping controversy. “People think you are uninformed or don’t care,” Norvell said. Dagen described her argument to this stereotype.
“Some people definitely consider me to be lazy or uninformed when I say that I am neutral. It is true that some people do not identify with a political party simply because they do not know or aren’t interested in politics, but for me, this is untrue. I’m no political buff, but I certainly do stay informed and participate in political discussions and exercise my rights to vote,” she says.
Also, voters who are registered as “independent” cannot vote in the primary election. Depending on the state, you must be a registered as a Democrat or Republican. Though you may register as one of those two and vote the latter, you have to make the choice when you register. But, in the general election, registered independents are not pigeonholed into choosing one of the two main parties.
Some studies show that the “political moderate” is not what it seems. The University of California at Berkeley political scientist David Broockman said that “that the way we compile poll responses gives the false perception that there are a bunch of people flooding the middle of the political spectrum,” said Phillip Bump of the Washington Post.
What it means
Moderates are changing the way politicians campaign. With this large of a group not identifying with a particular side, they will have to change the way they reel in the undecided voter. ”As a voter, I tend to elect based on current issues and examining the rights and wrongs from both sides and make what I believe is the best choice possible,” Dagen said.
It also means that being “in the middle” is more common than you thought. Though there is research that shows that political moderates exist and do not exist, people are identifying as so.
The key to defining your political interests rests on being educated on the topics that are important and relevant to you. Even if you cannot choose a party and you choose to be moderate, you can still make your vote matter. The political landscape is ever-changing. It is OK if you find yourself switching sides or not choosing a side at all.
