Sara Stavile has always been an active citizen. She volunteers twice a week, believes in feminism, eats organic, animal-friendly food whenever she can, and rallies extensively (both on Facebook and in real life) for the environment. So when it came time for Stavile to vote in her first election ever, she wanted to be informed.
“I went to the Emory screenings of almost all of the presidential debates…and I went to the vice-presidential one,” Stavile remembers. “I got the book in the mail explaining for the different judges back in [her home state of] Colorado. I read all of it. I read all the ballot stuff.”
She quickly discovered that though she had previously considered herself a Democrat, there were some things about Obama’s politics that she couldn’t quite reconcile.
“During the second presidential debate, when Obama was just talking about some of his policies, I was like, I agree with part of it but I think you’re going about it the wrong way,” Stavile recalls. “And I remember I went back up to my dorm room after the binders full of women debate, and the various responses to that whole thing. Someone asked me who I was going to vote for, and I was like, after watching that, I really don’t know. I might just vote independent. And they got so mad at me.”
She was told time and time again that doing that would be “throwing a vote away,” so she ended up voting Democrat. But in the year since, Stavile has only strengthened what that original gut feeling told her. She now identifies as a member of the Green Party, though she notes that she’d be open to changing that affiliation if she modified her views.
“I just decided that it’s better to vote more along what I believe,” Stavile explains. “And even if it doesn’t count, I’ll feel a lot better as a person for knowing that I’ve voted this way.”
She’s not the only one going through this process. Stavile is part of a growing group of Americans reassessing their political alignments—whether in favor of a new party, or no party at all.
An August 2013 study from the Pew Research Center found that both Democrat and Republican favorability ratings are “underwater”—50 percent of the public has an unfavorable view of the Democratic party, and 58 percent has an unfavorable view of the Republican party. That’s the highest disapproval rating for the party in power—and a major party in general—since at least 1994. As Americans become disheartened with the two primary parties, the number of independent Americans has continued to grow: from 30 percent in 2000 to 38 percent in 2012.
“There’s a widespread perception that things are not working right,” explains Alan Abramowitz, professor of political science at Emory University. “There’s some discontent right now with the way that the…extreme conservatives have pushed their party away from the center. And there’s an element within the Democratic party that are pretty unhappy with some of the things that Obama’s done.”
“It’s difficult, with everything that’s been going on,” Stavile acknowledges. “But it’s really just a matter of personal consciousness, and just knowing I don’t understand the two-party system.”
Stavile has made a point to remain active, from making sure she finds the most fair, objective news she can to regularly studying up on what’s happening back home in Colorado, even when she’s away for months at a time. Then again, the problem with growing disillusionment with the partisan system is that not everyone’s as committed as Stavile, and the frustration can all too easily turn into apathy.
Jana Muschinski, for instance, was raised in the liberal haven of Amherst, Massachusetts. Growing up, the people she knew believed in welfare, universal health care, and regulating the second amendment. But now, she’s not sure what political parties even are anymore.
“I consider myself a Democrat, just because most of their ideas I’m more in line with,” she comments. “But then on both sides you see a lot of hypocritical things going on, so I don’t really know anymore.”
Muschinski is having trouble making a commitment to pretty much any opinion. She does think that increasing polarization is “ridiculous, because it’s splitting everything in half when there’s a lot more opinions than just those two.” She cites European countries like Germany that have multiple parties, so to get anything productive done, the parties have to combine forces. She also describes that that kind of a system also creates a less aggressive environment.
“If you’re a Democrat in a room full of Republicans, or a Democrat in a room full of Republicans, there’s no way you’re gonna be able to talk about your ideas without being shot down,” she says. “But if there’s five or six parties…there’ll be a wider range of opinions and of accepted opinions.”
She knows that the two-party system, and the polarization it creates, isn’t working. And she thinks this European model would be more beneficial for Americans to voice their opinions. But she’s not quite sure what those opinions are for herself. Beyond the model for how the system should work, she’s happy with verbalizing that she’s undecided.
“I don’t feel qualified to call myself a Democrat or a Republican,” she says. “Maybe I’m not a moderate, but I don’t understand enough to really be anything.”
Like Muschinski, the number of “moderates” is growing, though they haven’t gained much traction yet. And, as Abramowitz explains, that’s because it’s the extremists, who are absolutely certain of their views—not the questioners—who make the news.
“The people on the far right—or left—are the most active,” he says. “They’re the loudest voices.”
Indeed, even though people are reconsidering their opinions, their newfound stances can sometimes create more polarization between the two parties rather than bridge the gap.
Olivia Walser, for example, grew up in a conservative family that advocated for policies like reduced government and smaller taxes. But as she got older, she had to reassess her values. She became heavily involved with science (she’s now a senior majoring in biology at Western Michigan University) and made several very close gay friends. The issues that spoke to those experiences—Republicans’ belief in creationism and opposition to gay rights—ultimately became the tipping point for Walser to decide to identify as a Democrat.
“[Republicans] can’t hold on to these old-world values which don’t apply in today’s world and try to impose them on everybody else in America just because you think they’re correct,” Walser says.
Walser talks about other specific issues that influenced her decision, including the overwhelming Republican disapproval of Obama, resistance to things like unions, and belief in corporate personhood. She’s pretty proud of the fact that she was able to come to this decision on her own, despite her conservative parents’ contempt for it.
“I’ve always been trying to recheck my opinion,” she says. “I’m not super-disillusioned. I’d like to be part of a change…I don’t know if it’s directly political, but what I’d like to do is just educate people more because then they’d make decisions that make sense for them. And honestly, I think that most people will tend towards liberal and I think that more and more people are.”
Like Walser, most people say they’d be open to changing their party if they felt it was necessary, but by and large they need to associate with something.
Tarrek Shaban strongly believes himself to be a Democrat, but still thinks he has a good dose of independent in him. “I consider myself independent of thought,” he explains. “But there’s a strong sense that when you go to vote, if you’re not aligned with one party your vote doesn’t matter.”
In Shaban’s case, he wants to form his own opinions. But sometimes, he’s had to settle for agreeing with the Democrats on just a few issues to ensure that something can get done, rather than intensely condoning every decision they make.
Increasingly, though, Americans are growing tired of settling for that. Particularly, that eight percent of Americans who have newly begun to identify as independent.
On that note, Abramowitz looks ahead to the upcoming elections, observing that there are two main methods to overcoming polarization: one party could move back towards the center as a way to expand their voting base, or one party could gain control and move the country in that entire direction.
“We’ve certainly had eras of polarization before, like before the Civil War,” Abramowitz explains. “And it ended with a war. I don’t think that we’re going to have a war. But the political resolution is that one side does win out, at least for a time.”
As for Stavile, she’s not concerned with whether anyone wins out. She’s concerned with speaking up for the issues she believes in.
“A lot of people, instead of voting independent, they just don’t vote at all, because they feel like the independent party is not going to get any kind of traction,” she says. “But I’m going to vote because I have the ability to vote, I have the right to vote, and I’m going to use it…It’s something that a lot of the world does not get to do, and it’s important to express that.”
“I went to the Emory screenings of almost all of the presidential debates…and I went to the vice-presidential one,” Stavile remembers. “I got the book in the mail explaining for the different judges back in [her home state of] Colorado. I read all of it. I read all the ballot stuff.”
She quickly discovered that though she had previously considered herself a Democrat, there were some things about Obama’s politics that she couldn’t quite reconcile.
“During the second presidential debate, when Obama was just talking about some of his policies, I was like, I agree with part of it but I think you’re going about it the wrong way,” Stavile recalls. “And I remember I went back up to my dorm room after the binders full of women debate, and the various responses to that whole thing. Someone asked me who I was going to vote for, and I was like, after watching that, I really don’t know. I might just vote independent. And they got so mad at me.”
She was told time and time again that doing that would be “throwing a vote away,” so she ended up voting Democrat. But in the year since, Stavile has only strengthened what that original gut feeling told her. She now identifies as a member of the Green Party, though she notes that she’d be open to changing that affiliation if she modified her views.
“I just decided that it’s better to vote more along what I believe,” Stavile explains. “And even if it doesn’t count, I’ll feel a lot better as a person for knowing that I’ve voted this way.”
She’s not the only one going through this process. Stavile is part of a growing group of Americans reassessing their political alignments—whether in favor of a new party, or no party at all.
An August 2013 study from the Pew Research Center found that both Democrat and Republican favorability ratings are “underwater”—50 percent of the public has an unfavorable view of the Democratic party, and 58 percent has an unfavorable view of the Republican party. That’s the highest disapproval rating for the party in power—and a major party in general—since at least 1994. As Americans become disheartened with the two primary parties, the number of independent Americans has continued to grow: from 30 percent in 2000 to 38 percent in 2012.
“There’s a widespread perception that things are not working right,” explains Alan Abramowitz, professor of political science at Emory University. “There’s some discontent right now with the way that the…extreme conservatives have pushed their party away from the center. And there’s an element within the Democratic party that are pretty unhappy with some of the things that Obama’s done.”
“It’s difficult, with everything that’s been going on,” Stavile acknowledges. “But it’s really just a matter of personal consciousness, and just knowing I don’t understand the two-party system.”
Stavile has made a point to remain active, from making sure she finds the most fair, objective news she can to regularly studying up on what’s happening back home in Colorado, even when she’s away for months at a time. Then again, the problem with growing disillusionment with the partisan system is that not everyone’s as committed as Stavile, and the frustration can all too easily turn into apathy.
Jana Muschinski, for instance, was raised in the liberal haven of Amherst, Massachusetts. Growing up, the people she knew believed in welfare, universal health care, and regulating the second amendment. But now, she’s not sure what political parties even are anymore.
“I consider myself a Democrat, just because most of their ideas I’m more in line with,” she comments. “But then on both sides you see a lot of hypocritical things going on, so I don’t really know anymore.”
Muschinski is having trouble making a commitment to pretty much any opinion. She does think that increasing polarization is “ridiculous, because it’s splitting everything in half when there’s a lot more opinions than just those two.” She cites European countries like Germany that have multiple parties, so to get anything productive done, the parties have to combine forces. She also describes that that kind of a system also creates a less aggressive environment.
“If you’re a Democrat in a room full of Republicans, or a Democrat in a room full of Republicans, there’s no way you’re gonna be able to talk about your ideas without being shot down,” she says. “But if there’s five or six parties…there’ll be a wider range of opinions and of accepted opinions.”
She knows that the two-party system, and the polarization it creates, isn’t working. And she thinks this European model would be more beneficial for Americans to voice their opinions. But she’s not quite sure what those opinions are for herself. Beyond the model for how the system should work, she’s happy with verbalizing that she’s undecided.
“I don’t feel qualified to call myself a Democrat or a Republican,” she says. “Maybe I’m not a moderate, but I don’t understand enough to really be anything.”
Like Muschinski, the number of “moderates” is growing, though they haven’t gained much traction yet. And, as Abramowitz explains, that’s because it’s the extremists, who are absolutely certain of their views—not the questioners—who make the news.
“The people on the far right—or left—are the most active,” he says. “They’re the loudest voices.”
Indeed, even though people are reconsidering their opinions, their newfound stances can sometimes create more polarization between the two parties rather than bridge the gap.
Olivia Walser, for example, grew up in a conservative family that advocated for policies like reduced government and smaller taxes. But as she got older, she had to reassess her values. She became heavily involved with science (she’s now a senior majoring in biology at Western Michigan University) and made several very close gay friends. The issues that spoke to those experiences—Republicans’ belief in creationism and opposition to gay rights—ultimately became the tipping point for Walser to decide to identify as a Democrat.
“[Republicans] can’t hold on to these old-world values which don’t apply in today’s world and try to impose them on everybody else in America just because you think they’re correct,” Walser says.
Walser talks about other specific issues that influenced her decision, including the overwhelming Republican disapproval of Obama, resistance to things like unions, and belief in corporate personhood. She’s pretty proud of the fact that she was able to come to this decision on her own, despite her conservative parents’ contempt for it.
“I’ve always been trying to recheck my opinion,” she says. “I’m not super-disillusioned. I’d like to be part of a change…I don’t know if it’s directly political, but what I’d like to do is just educate people more because then they’d make decisions that make sense for them. And honestly, I think that most people will tend towards liberal and I think that more and more people are.”
Like Walser, most people say they’d be open to changing their party if they felt it was necessary, but by and large they need to associate with something.
Tarrek Shaban strongly believes himself to be a Democrat, but still thinks he has a good dose of independent in him. “I consider myself independent of thought,” he explains. “But there’s a strong sense that when you go to vote, if you’re not aligned with one party your vote doesn’t matter.”
In Shaban’s case, he wants to form his own opinions. But sometimes, he’s had to settle for agreeing with the Democrats on just a few issues to ensure that something can get done, rather than intensely condoning every decision they make.
Increasingly, though, Americans are growing tired of settling for that. Particularly, that eight percent of Americans who have newly begun to identify as independent.
On that note, Abramowitz looks ahead to the upcoming elections, observing that there are two main methods to overcoming polarization: one party could move back towards the center as a way to expand their voting base, or one party could gain control and move the country in that entire direction.
“We’ve certainly had eras of polarization before, like before the Civil War,” Abramowitz explains. “And it ended with a war. I don’t think that we’re going to have a war. But the political resolution is that one side does win out, at least for a time.”
As for Stavile, she’s not concerned with whether anyone wins out. She’s concerned with speaking up for the issues she believes in.
“A lot of people, instead of voting independent, they just don’t vote at all, because they feel like the independent party is not going to get any kind of traction,” she says. “But I’m going to vote because I have the ability to vote, I have the right to vote, and I’m going to use it…It’s something that a lot of the world does not get to do, and it’s important to express that.”