Uninhabitable or just uncomfortable?

By JoAnne Young

 

There, I’m declaring it. Our political parties are becoming unsuitable to live in or with. 

 

This Independence Day, I’m celebrating my own independence from political parties, shooting off a roman candle to show how grateful I am that I’m allowed to register as a nonpartisan, how proud I am to be an independent voter, all because of how uninhabitable both major parties seem to me these days. 

 

We are smack in the course of human events right now, aren’t we? When I say smack, I can feel the rap on the head, the kick in the shin of politics today, just days after that debacle of a debate between the representatives of those two political parties we love/hate. Between two white men who are in their upper 70s or 80s and beholden to party politics. 

 

I am a moderate and can frequently see a little right in both sides of an issue, as long as truth accompanies it. I tire of the all-or-nothing stands on important issues. I want to live in that political gap where there is no animosity. Where there is reason and feelings for the difficulties of life. 

 

Our lack of independence from a party system is a reminder that we can’t scour the country and find the best person to sit in the Oval Office and make good decisions. Woman or man. Black- or white- or brown-skinned. Preferably in the age range of 40-70. People who will protect the rights of all people and balance the needs of this country and the world. 

 

A pipe dream of an independent voter, I know. 

 

But our numbers of nonpartisan voters are increasing, a rising tide of independents as some experts identify the trend. A higher percentage of people identify as nonpartisan than either Democrats or Republicans. According to Gallup polls, that percentage is inching toward half of voters. A panel of political analysts and strategists at the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future said young voters, particularly millennials and Gen Z, prioritize issues over party loyalty. 

 

The growing independent voter base reflects a broader sentiment of political disillusionment and a desire for new voices and choices in American politics, they said. While many Independents have leanings, many, like me, are disillusioned with policies and initiatives on both sides of the aisle. I don’t like the fighting, the name calling, the arguing in an important debate over golf handicaps. I don’t like the influence of egos. 

 

Unfortunately, in Nebraska, we have a bit of a one-party rule, and it’s a Republican rule that dominates state government. 

 

Here, nonpartisan voters have limited power. We can’t vote freely in our primary elections. We can vote in all nonpartisan races, such as the Nebraska Legislature and Board of Regents. Then we must choose a Republican ballot that only allows voting for U.S. Senate and House of Representative candidates, or a Democratic, Libertarian or Legal Marijuana NOW ballot that allows for voting in all federal, state and county races. 

 

In the 2023 legislative session, Sen. Eliot Bostar introduced a bill (LB776) that would mimic how candidates for the Legislature are chosen. It would have allowed all voters to participate in a single nonpartisan primary election for every Nebraska election. The two candidates receiving the most votes, regardless of partisan affiliation, would advance to the general election, where the candidate who then receives the most votes would win. 

It would make Nebraska elections more competitive, Bostar said. The bill never made it out of a Republican-dominated committee and died at the end of this year’s session.

Josh Moenning, in a commentary for the Nebraska Examiner, said Nebraska’s closed primary system is equivalent to taxation without participation, taxing nonpartisan voters but not allowing them to participate fully in primary elections. Having to print multiple versions of ballots is wasteful of tax dollars. And it limits the number of qualified candidates running for office. 

 

In Lancaster County, as of May, more than 48,000 voters are registered as nonpartisan. Statewide the number is more than 271,000, out of 1.2 million registered voters. Nonpartisan registrations in Lancaster County are up by about 5,000 in the past five years and by about 11,000 statewide. 

 

I have a lot of respect for politicians with the courage to declare their independence, who avoid our country’s and our state’s rigid partisan divisions: U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Nebraska senators Ernie Chambers and Megan Hunt. 

 

I thank them for their independence and encourage all of us to consider our own. 

Follow us on Facebook at 5 Women Mayhem.