Voices
HOWARD STEVEN
FRIEDMAN
HUFFINGTON
11.04.12
Save the
Independent
Voter From
Extinction
F
OR SOME VOTERS, there is no thinking involved. They
are kneejerk voters for one party or another, regardless
of the candidates or how disgruntled they might be with
their party. Nothing will bring them to vote for the candidate from a different party. Many of them vote the same
as their parents, as if they inherited a gene for Democrat
or Republican along with their hair color and height. This
is a comfortable world to live in, unencumbered by the
need for facts or options. They vote unconsciously, or as
many of them like to say, “I finished doing my thinking
about politics years ago.” ¶ Some voters cast their ballot based on only one issue. Whether it is gay marriage,
women’s rights, tax policy, or military spending they only
need to know where the party stands on that one issue in
order to decide. Those who vote based on a single social
issue tend to be those same party loyalists I mentioned
above. Single-issue voters on non-social issues sometimes
ILLUSTRATION BY LESLIE HERMAN
Howard
Steven
Friedman is a
statistician/
economist for
the United
Nations who
teaches at
Columbia
University