It’s a common misconception, but if you registered “Independent Party” you aren’t “independent” you are a member of your state’s Independent party, who has a platform and agenda you may or may not agree with. What you actually want is called an “unaffiliated” voter status. The good news is, all you have to do is…nothing!

LA Times had a good summary a few years back: https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-american-independent-party-california-registration-card-20180405-story.html

You don’t need to register with any party to show you don’t like R or D, do nothing or choose "unaffiliated if you want to be “little i independent”.

Examples:

#USA #politics----

  • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    To participate in the party’s election of a candidate. So you select a candidate within the party and then select the winner from the candidates each party selected.

    Technically you don’t have to be affiliated to run for office. But once you’re talking about federal offices that route is functionally restricted to billionaires. And voters who are unaffiliated just don’t get the first round of voting. So it’s highly incentivized to affiliate.

    • MutilationWave@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      This is not always true. Here in West Virginia unaffiliated voters like me used to be able to vote in either primary. Then the Republicans canned that option. So now when I vote in a primary I am asked if I would like the Democrat or unaffiliated ballot. All the choices from the unaffiliated ballot are on the Democrat ballot.

      • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        I was just giving a general run down. I could start in on jungle primaries and caucuses too