WV: Independent Surge Among Registered Voters

From Hoppy Kercheval at the West Virginia Metro News:

In West Virginia, the two major parties still dominate, but voter registration figures show a growing number of independents in the state. Figures released recently by the Secretary of State’s Office show that nearly 208,000 registered voters, or 17 percent, list themselves as having no party affiliation or belong to a party other than Democrat or Republican. . . .

Since 2004, while Republican registration has held steady and Democratic registration has declined, the number of voters registering as independents or belonging to another party has risen by nearly 50 percent.