45% of Americans Are Independent — Here’s How They Fix Our Fractured Nation

Confused Independent Voter | Image: Shutterstock

The American House Under Pressure

President Abraham Lincoln once warned that "a house divided against itself cannot stand." As we approach our nation's 250th anniversary, that warning feels more urgent than ever. The American house is under severe pressure, not just divided, but straining under fractured media, persistent partisan gridlock, and an affordability crisis that makes the American Dream feel increasingly out of reach. While leaders remain locked in perpetual stalemate, the stability so many families depend on is being tested in ways we have not seen in generations.

At a time when so many Americans need real relief, national discourse remains trapped in escalating polarization. Leaders prioritize political combat over compromise, campaigning on opponents’ mistakes rather than offering long-term solutions. This endless gridlock stalls legislation, creates a vacuum where pragmatic policy should be, and treats the human toll as a real economic strain on families as secondary to culture-war headlines. When winning the news cycle matters more than solving problems, everyday Americans pay the price.

Mainstream media deepens this division by fixating on horse-race drama: specifically, polling swings and win-loss projections. This focus sidelines substantive reporting on practical proposals to restore prosperity and security. Many outlets now prioritize driving engagement by demonizing political opponents rather than holding all leaders equally accountable. This trend deprives the public of the information needed to bridge divides. Sensationalized coverage keeps audiences hooked yet leaves citizens increasingly exhausted, cynical, and vulnerable.

Broken politics stalls the legislative process and places the stability of American families at risk. When partisan wins overshadow pragmatic policy, the legislative vacuum leaves millions to struggle without the foundational stability required for upward mobility.

The human toll of our gridlock is not just undeniable; it is consistently treated as secondary to culture-war rhetoric. While political leaders focus on headline-grabbing debates, everyday Americans are navigating a different, more profound kind of strain. This disconnect leaves millions of households to manage real economic instability while the solutions they need are sidelined for political theater.

Perhaps most dangerously, this vacuum has sucked away the unifying faith in our democracy and the shared commitment to our national security that once bound us together. We have lost the historical consensus that politics stops at the water’s edge, leaving our foreign policy fractured and our global standing weakened by internal inconsistency and strife. Without a shared set of facts or a belief in our collective future, American politics lacks common ground on which to build compromise.

The public feels this paralysis clearly. A large majority of Americans, 77% according to recent polling, believe the two major parties care more about fighting each other than about solving the nation’s actual problems. Yet the system remains locked in battle positions, producing more gridlock than progress.

The mechanics of our often overlooked and underappreciated primary voting system help explain why. Only about 20% of eligible voters typically participate in primaries, and those who do are overwhelmingly the most loyal, most partisan members of each party. These small, highly ideological groups effectively choose the candidates who will appear in the general election.

Then, because of entrenched partisan gerrymandering, roughly 90% of congressional districts are drawn to be safely red or safely blue before a single vote is cast in any election. That leaves only about 36 Congressional districts nationwide that are genuinely competitive every two years. This narrow funnel has shaped American politics for decades.

Past patterns do not have to be permanent. There are straightforward changes to our electoral rules, open primaries, ranked-choice voting, and independent redistricting commissions that would widen the funnel, reward consensus-building, and give elected officials real incentives to prioritize the common good over the demands of their party’s base. But the people who benefit most from the current arrangement are the partisan loyalists and the donors who thrive in polarized environments, have little reason to support those fixes.

In this divided political state, the rise of Independent voters becomes decisive. A record-high 45% of Americans now identify as Independent, outnumbering both Democrats and Republicans combined. These politically homeless citizens, especially the large majorities of Gen Z and Millennials who have rejected partisan labels, are not invested in preserving the current rules of the game. They care about progress on the issues that matter most to them, individual rights, prosperity, and security, not about who scores the next political point.

While these pressures are real and deep, the 45% of Americans who now call themselves Independent are not just bystanders in this story, they are the emerging majority with the power to change it.

Because they stand outside the partisan incentive structure, Independents are uniquely positioned to apply steady, issue-focused pressure and demand bipartisan solutions, which have historically brought about the most success for Americans over the past century. They are the emerging majority that can carry the banner for the structural reforms our system desperately needs. At this pivotal moment in our history, Independents do not merely hold the balance of power in elections; they have the key to restoring a politics capable of solving problems once more.

Before we can repair the hardware of our political system or upgrade the software of our civic life, we must reconnect with a shared purpose. In modern terms, that purpose remains straightforward: protecting personal freedom, expanding the opportunity to prosper, and ensuring the basic security everyone needs to build a good life.

As Franklin D. Roosevelt declared in 1941:

“We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms… freedom of speech and expression… freedom of every person to worship God in his own way… freedom from want… freedom from fear.”

That vision remains the quiet, practical hope of most Americans. But can we still agree on what it takes to maintain a functioning democracy and one that actually delivers these freedoms to the next generation?

This shared purpose is the foundation upon which all reform is built. It is where everything starts, and it is exactly where we go next.

New Gallup Poll Shows 45% of US Voters Identify As Independents

The New Shared Purpose

America holds a singular place in the human story as the bold architect of modern democracy. Today, however, that historic beacon faces deep domestic fragility. Our government increasingly serves partisan extremes and elite interests, amplified by the vast sums of money in politics, rather than prioritizing the needs of everyday citizens. This instability has become a defining feature of daily life, leaving millions of households to manage real economic insecurity while the solutions they need are sidelined for political theater.

Independents are the ones least invested in this partisan noise and most hungry for a return to shared purpose. Even in our current fractured state, the American purpose can reemerge to transcend the chaos. Consider the viral footage of Marta Cinta González Saldaña, a former prima ballerina battling advanced Alzheimer’s. When she hears Tchaikovsky’s music from her youth, the illness seemingly vanishes; her hands rise with perfect poise, and her posture straightens as she inhabits the dance once more.

America currently finds itself in a similar fog. We led the world in 1776 by pioneering a model of representative democracy never before seen in modern civilization, yet we have slowly forgotten the unifying vision that fueled those liberties. This is not just a feeling; it is a measurable decline. In 2016, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) downgraded the United States from a "full democracy" to a "flawed democracy." Entering 2026, we remain stuck in that second tier, ranking 28th globally because we continue to lose ground in these official EIU categories:

• Functioning of Government: The EIU identifies a chronic "paralysis" in the legislative process. Partisan gridlock prevents the government from enacting meaningful policy, which actively erodes the score for how well our democratic institutions perform.

• Political Culture: The Index measures a "sharp decline" in the social consensus necessary for democracy. As voters lose trust in one another and the system, the underlying culture required to support a healthy political process withers.

• Political Participation: While turnout varies, the EIU notes a growing disengagement among voters. Barriers like closed primaries and non-competitive districts lead millions to believe their participation is futile.

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This ranking is more than a statistic; it’s a wake-up call. Reclaiming our full democracy will take more than new candidates; it will take recommitting to the vision Lincoln expressed at Gettysburg: government “of the people, by the people, for the people.”

It is independent voters outnumbering both major parties who are best positioned to demand that we once again govern for all the people, not just the loudest factions. Like the ballerina who straightens at the sound of Tchaikovsky, America can rediscover its poise and purpose. Independent voters are not just the largest group in the country; they are the ones who can provide the music that brings us back together. It starts with refusing to accept partisan gridlock as usual and demanding a politics that serves everyone again.

A Path Toward National Renewal

The independent movement does not seek to abolish parties. It forces them to earn support through results by prioritizing material outcomes and pragmatic solutions over partisan purity. History shows that bipartisan compromise has consistently delivered the best outcomes for our country.

We have just seen the cost of unchecked factionalism: systemic gridlock, a ballooning deficit, manufactured outrage, and an inability to get things done that ignores the human toll of stalemate. George Washington warned of this danger in his 1796 Farewell Address, words still read aloud annually in the U.S. Senate:

"...the alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities."

That prediction feels painfully familiar today, but the data tells a different story about tomorrow. With 45% of Americans now identifying as independent, the Era of the Independent has arrived. This growing majority is the only force large enough to break the partisan monopoly and restore a government that rewards results over rage.

Right now, independents are often treated, and sometimes act, as a swing vote: if things are going badly, they swing the election to the other party; if that party disappoints, they swing back. These short-term shifts in power rarely produce lasting progress. They simply rotate who holds the wheel without ever repairing the vehicle.

That is exactly what we hope independents can change. If independents focus together, not just on who wins the next election, but on reforming elections and renewing the civic habits that govern all elections, we can move beyond temporary power swaps and achieve genuine, long-term progress for the nation on all issues that matter to us all.

The prescription is clear and within reach. Below are 8 concrete steps independents can champion: four structural reforms to repair the hardware of our elections, and four civic habits to strengthen how we engage as citizens. These are proven, achievable changes already working in parts of the country. Together they offer a practical roadmap to move beyond stalemate and rebuild a politics that actually serves the American Dream: affordability, safety, and opportunity for everyone.

By choosing country over party and pragmatism over purity, we can move from a house buckling under division to one that stands strong and thrives for generations to come.

The Era of the Independent has begun. Let’s make it count together.

We hope you’ll stay with us: follow the blog, listen to the podcast, subscribe to the newsletter, and join us on social media. All are built for independent voters: unbiased reporting and practical steps to help repair our fractured nation.

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8 Concrete Actions Independents Can Take Right Now

No party. No platform. No problem. Independents are uniquely positioned to repair American politics.

Real progress requires a two-front strategy: fixing the hardware of our election system and the software of our civic habits.

Part 1: Repairing the Hardware (Structural Reform)

These four proven reforms reduce polarization and incentivize representatives to prioritize the center over partisan fringes. Independents should push their state to adopt them.

1. Open Primaries

   In many states, 27 million independents are still barred from voting in the primaries that choose general-election candidates.

   Support: Open Primaries, Unite America

   Legislation: Let America Vote Act (H.R.155, 119th Congress)

   
   

2. Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV)

   Winners need a true majority (>50%), not just the loudest 30%.

   Candidates have to appeal to a broader majority.

   Support: FairVote, Rank The Vote

   Legislation: RCV Act (H.R.6589 / S.3425, 119th Congress)

   
   

3. Non-Partisan Redistricting

   Independent commissions draw fair maps, ending gerrymandering so representatives must answer to the whole community.

   Support: League of Women Voters, Brennan Center for Justice

   Legislation: Redistricting Reform Act of 2025 (H.R.5449, 119th Congress)

   
   

4. Campaign Finance Reform

   Stronger limits on dark money ensure officials serve constituents, not wealthy donors.

   Support: Free Speech For People, End Citizens United, Public Citizen

   Legislation: Democracy for All Amendment (H.J.Res.119, 119th Congress)

   
   

Part 2: Upgrading the Software (Civic Engagement)

Structural fixes only work when citizens stay engaged. Four practical steps:

5. Fund the Free Press

   Support quality local and regional journalism to stay informed beyond social-media outrage.

   Support: Local Media Association, Discounted Newspapers

   
   

6. Register and Vote

   Confirm registration, mark your calendar, and vote in all elections especially local races and primaries.

   Support: Vote.gov and Vote.org

   
   

7. Follow Your Elected Officials Closely

   Follow officials on socials + subscribe to their newsletters. Study votes, bills, statements, platforms and attend town hall meetings.

   Support: USA.gov and Elected Officials

   
   

8. News Literacy

   Learn to evaluate sources, spot bias, and protect yourself from manipulation.

   Support: News Literacy Project, MediaWise (Poynter), FactCheck.org

The Bottom Line

Independents hold the key to real change, but these reforms will not implement themselves. It’s time to stop handing power back and forth and start building the movement that replaces partisan fighting with bipartisan problem-solving.

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Stay Connected

Repairing our nation starts with staying informed and acting together. Join us at Independent Times News to make voting and following the news more transparent, and engagement more consistent.

Let’s move from swing voters to system repairers one practical step at a time.

• Follow: @IndTimesNews

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These are not the best of times, nor the worst, but these are undoubtedly Independent Times.