IA: Independents Outnumber Democrats, Republicans

From the Chicago Tribune, via the Hankster:

Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said Iowa voters have long shown a preference for a divided government that gives both parties a say in running the state, and he expects that to continue.

"I think when it's all said and done, it's up to the independent voters," Gronstal said. "They've often said it's good to have divided government."

Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in Iowa by about 646,000 to 610,000, but there are more independent voters than members of either party: nearly 702,000.

MA: Seismic Shift Toward Political Independence

From Mike Moran at The Herald News:

A newly published listing, with numbers tracked annually since 1982, reveals changes in the party affiliation of Bay State voters. It shows a seismic shift in attitude and a steadily decreasing number of voters identifying themselves as either Democrats or Republicans. The numbers are nicely analyzed in an article recently published in the Herald News by David Riley of GateHouse News Service.

First, here’s the good news. Over the past 29 years, the number of registered voters in Massachusetts has gone from approximately 2.9 million to 4.1 million. The bad news for loyal Democrats and Republicans is that while both parties have seen an increase in the raw numbers over the years, there has also been a significant decrease in both party’s ranks as a percentage of all registered voters.

In other words, more and more of us are choosing to forego membership in the two major parties. As it stands now, the biggest party in Massachusetts is no party at all. Democrats comprise 36 percent of voters; Republicans are at 11 percent; and independent voters hold the majority with 52 percent. [Emphasis added.]

FL: Independents Outnumber Republicans, Gain on Democrats in Broward County,

From The Shark Tank:

In what amounts to an embarrassing piece of news for the Republican Party in Florida, the number of people in Broward County registered as Republicans now trails both Registered Democrats AND Registered Independents.  Broward Republicans now trail that highly organized political party, affectionately known as “Other” by close to 1000 votes.

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.

AZ: Massive Surge in Independent Voters, More than Double that of All Other Parties Combined

From ABC15:

According to [Arizona] Secretary of State Ken Bennett, by the end of July, the state had 3,102,876 registered voters. . . .  The Republican Party added more than 10,000 voters since the Special Election on May 18th. The Libertarian Party added 137 voters and the Green Party added 240. The Democratic Party saw a drop in registered voters, with 500 people leaving the party. The Independent Party saw the largest gain in registered voters. It grew by 25,674 members, all of whom are able to vote in the primary election.

Update: As an anonymous commenter points out, there is apparently no "Independent Party" in Arizona.  The news report excerpted above should likely have said that independent or unaffiliated voters surged in the state, not that affiliation with the "Independent Party" did so.  

AZ: Independent Registration Surges, Voters Eschew Party Labels

From ABC 15 News:

According to new figures, Arizona added nearly 27,000 new registered voters over the last six weeks. The independent party made the biggest leap, adding 14,716 new voters. Arizona’s four recognized political parties all saw an increase in numbers. The Republican party gained 7,852 voters, Democrats 3,879, Libertarian 322 and the Green party grew by 121.