About The Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy
American voters are increasingly frustrated with our government. In a recent study by the Partnership for Public Service, 56% of those surveyed said they do not trust the federal government and 65% think the government does not listen to the public. The idea of a nonpartisan government that nourishes and sustains democracy and the people it serves has withered. In 1787, when the Framers of the Constitutional Convention gathered in Philadelphia to design a new democratic republic, they entirely and purposely omitted political parties from the new nation's founding document. This was no accident. The founders viewed parties as having no legitimate place in the republic. In 1956, the great scholar W.E.B. Du Bois stated that he believed that the two-party system had led to the disappearance of democracy. Today, countless Americans echo his words. A key indicator of this public and private frustration is the millions of voters who are fleeing the Republican and Democratic parties to identify themselves as independents.
According to Gallup, political independents continue to constitute the largest political bloc in the United States. In 2023, 43% of American voters claimed that label. Independents first outnumbered supporters of both major parties in 1991 and have done so since then, except between 2004 and 2008. In June 2024, 51% of U.S. adults said they were independents, more than the two major parties combined. Growing numbers of voters suspect the parties themselves are largely to blame for extreme polarization and government dysfunction, a situation uncannily predicted by America’s first president. Now, in the 21st Century, is there a viable pathway to nonpartisan governance, to significant structural reform, to re-making the terms of self-governance? And what role can independent voters – who are as diverse as the country itself – play in such a shift?
At the Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy, we strive to:
- Further study this important, emerging community of voters, conducting new, innovative research;
- Create a space for diverse, concerned citizens – academics, policymakers, students, activists, civic groups – to dialogue on how best to address the challenges our democracy faces;
- Serve as a resource on the state of our democracy and examine ways to make a shift to nonpartisan alternatives and governance.
Contact our directors at thom.reilly@asu.edu and jsalit@asu.edu.