Mission

We are a state based association of independent voters and an organizing center working to connect and empower the 1.27 million Arizona voters who are registered as independents.

Our mission is to develop a movement of independent voters for progressive post-partisan reform of the Arizona political process.

We are not building a third party. Instead, we seek to diminish the regressive influence of parties and partisanship by opening up the democratic process.  

Independents in the Independent Voters for Arizona network are creating new electoral coalitions that bring together independent-minded Democrats, Republicans and independents in support of new models of nonpartisan governance.

 

Strategy

We strive for the broadest forms of “bottom-up” participation to fuel our movement building efforts. Our campaigns rely on volunteers who participate in social media outreach, educational initiatives, book club participation, phone-banking, door-to-door canvases, letter writing campaigns, legislative watch and lobbying efforts and organizational networking coalition building.

 

Myths about independent voters

They don’t stand for anything.  Independents don't like partisanship. Partisanship means the dominance of political parties and their interests over those of the public’s interests  -- in lawmaking, governing and the very conduct of our elections. When partisanship is in play, innovation is stifled. Instead, there is gridlock, ideological warfare and legislative dysfunction as the people’s interests are set aside and the parties battle it out for power and majority control. Sadly, partisanship has come to characterize the political process these days. Independents are making a statement that the believe there must be a better way. Independents often say: “I want to vote for the best person, not the party.”  

They’re apathetic and don’t vote.  Independents are concerned about partisanship and its corrosive effects. They want to be able to fully participate in each round of elections but are barred from doing so in, for example, Arizona’s March Presidential primaries. Independents face other structural barriers that prevent full participation. Independents are not allowed to be placed on the Permanent Early Voter List in AZ which provides for voters to automatically receive an early ballot for each election. Speaking with Arizona Horizon's host Ted Simons about this issue on the air, IndependentVoting.org President Jackie Salit explained asking independents to vote in a thoroughly partisan system is like asking someone who is allergic to peanut butter to come over and have a peanut butter sandwich. 

They’re right wing conservatives.  Independents span the ideological perspective but more importantly, they question the value of ideology as an organizing principle. Independents are more pragmatic in their views, often describing themselves as a mix of liberal, moderate and conservative. A common refrain among independents is “I’m socially liberal and fiscally conservative.”  In her presentation at a forum in Tempe sponsored by ASU's Morrison Institute on "Who is the Independent Voter?", Cathy Stewart reported on the results of  Independent Voters for Arizona grassroots surveys across the state on why people register independent.  Here are their top three reasons:

  • I want to be able to vote for the best candidate, no matter what party they represent.
  • I want to vote, but I don’t want any party telling me who to vote for.
  • I don’t like the political climate in the state, it is far too partisan.
Stewart also noted that the release of the ASU study also "raises some important methodological question about how to approach this new dis-alignment in American politics, where 45% of Americans now identify as independents, having left the two dominant political parties.  Here in Arizona, this is the largest community of voters in the state."
"If you look at independents through the traditional lens of our dominant political culture---ideology and party affinity---then that’s what you’ll see.  But I think if you only apply that lens, you can miss some of the most essential features of what independents are motivated by and searching for.  I think if you want to come closer to understanding how independents view themselves, you would have to ask them if they accept the idea of defining themselves along ideological lines at all.  After all, they are making a determined move away from that very paradigm.  A move away from the political parties and a move away from the traditional pillars—partisanship and ideology.  Independents are looking for new ways to move beyond them, to get out of the partisan stalemates and to create new coalitions and new ways to come together to deal with our most pressing issues. These are Americans from diverse backgrounds, over 50% of Hispanic voters in AZ are now choosing to be independents.  I believe that how Americans are choosing to describe themselves might turn out to be more important that who they vote for in any given election cycle where the choices are profoundly limited." 

 

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