Being an independent voter can feel lonely and isolating. In this week's newsletter, we breakdown the numbers. By the end, we hope you feel that you're not alone at all - in fact, you're a member of the largest community of voters in the United States.

You and me, as independent voters, often have a lonely road ahead of us.

It feels so much like half the country are angry Democrats, and the other half are angry Republicans. They're screaming at each other. More importantly, they're screaming at anyone who isn't them. Including us.

There we are, right in the middle, screamed at by everyone. Partisans aren't rolling out the red carpet for us, as they maybe should be. No, they're insisting that because we refuse to join with them, we must be on the "other team."

It's lonely. It's isolating. And it feels like we're the only ones who feel this way. But we're not.

In today's newsletter, we dive deep into the reality of the situation: a plurality of Americans are frustrated two parties. Hopefully by the end, you won't feel so alone.

As always, you can read this newsletter on the web if you prefer by clicking right here. Let's rock.

LetUsVote Newsletter: independents by the numbers.

Want to feel less alone? Let's start with the big one: 43% of Americans identify as independent voters, according to a Gallup Poll from January.

That's nearly double the number of voters who identify as Republicans and Democrats (27% apiece).

Percentages are boring though, right? Let's make that real. In the United States, there are about 162 million registered voters. That means that you're one of about 70 million American citizens who identifies as an independent voter.

For comparison, the National Rifle Association, with its famously huge membership, is home to just 5 million Americans. There are 14x more independents than there are members of the NRA.

Say what you want about the NRA (good or bad), but I know a few things aren't true of them:

• They aren't ignored.
• They aren't told they don't exist.
• They use the weight of normal, everyday folks to impact real policy outcomes.

So why do these smaller groups - from Democrats to Republicans to the NRA - feel so enormous, and independent voters feels so few and far between?

I have thoughts and explanations of my own. But this week, I want you to answer that question. Click below to explain why you think this huge group of voters are so ignored, and we'll use this to begin building the infrastructure to build the power of independent voters:

Share: Why Do Independents Have No Power?

Next Monday, I'll share the results - so make it good! You might just be quoted in that email.

Okay. Numbers, percentages, and nerdy breakdowns only get us so far. Over the last two months, LetUsVote has interviewed over 200 independent voters to understand why we're independents, what we have in common, and what unites a group of people who are inherently opposed to the semi-cultish nature of political parties.

We've heard tons of great answers. In fact, this past weekend, our partners at New Mexico Open Elections conducted another 20+ in-person interviews in the great state of New Mexico. You'll see us begin to share those stories over the next couple weeks.

If you aren't already, make sure you're following LetUsVote on YouTube, Instagram, X/Twitter or Facebook, where we're sharing these stories almost every single day.

And, maybe more importantly, we need you to share your own story. Independents are underheard, underrepresented, and undervalued. It's time to change that, and sharing your own story goes further than you think:

Share Your Story

Okay, that's it for today. On Wednesday, we'll tell the brave story of a former party boss who is leaving their party. Check it out - you won't want to miss it.

If you support what we're doing here at LetUsVote, please know that any contribution - big or small - helps us keep up the work of building a unique and totally new community for independent voters. It would mean the world if you can contribute.

Thank you for all you do.

Sincerely,

Will Conway

Campaign Director - LetUsVote