Independent Voters by State 2026

There are three primary classes of voters in the US. While most are very familiar with the two leading parties, Democrats and Republicans, the third group, independent voters, may have something to say about that. The truth is when it comes to how many voters identify themselves as Democrats, Republicans, or Independents, the numbers are surprising.

In many cases, those who choose to identify as independent are undecided on supporting particular candidates or platforms. They usually do not feel comfortable supporting the full platform of either of the two major political parties.

Independent Voters

According to the most recent Gallup news polls, including historical data, Independent voters make up a much larger portion of voters than most might imagine. As of October 2022, there are 31 states along with the District of Columbia that allow voters to indicate their party affiliation on voter registration forms. This information is shared publicly and gives insight into nationwide trends. In the most recent report, 35.3 million registered voters identified as independents which makes up 28.55% of voters from the states reporting this data.

Independent or unaffiliated voters make up the largest percentage of voters in nine states: Alaska (58.08%), Arkansas (87.94%), Colorado (45.99%), Connecticut (41.58%), Massachusetts (60.17%), New Hampshire (39.09%), North Carolina (35.47%), Oregon (34.71%), and Rhode Island (45.48%).

Although these numbers always fluctuate, and even more so during election time, they are quite revealing. Those who identify as Independent voters reached a high of 50 percent at the end of January 2021. By October 2022, with a midterm election less than a month away, this fell to 35 percent. By contrast, the number of people who declare as Republicans or Democrats fairly consistently hovers around 30 percent.

Independent Voters by the Numbers

It is unsurprising that the three states with the most Independent voters are also some of the most populated states. In California, 5,096,197 residents are Independent voters. Florida and New York are far behind with 3,939,389 and 2,996,889 Independent voters, respectively.

Other states with more than one million Independent voters include Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, Colorado, Arkansas, Arizona, Oregon, and Connecticut. This explains why many of these states have such high percentages of Independent voters.

On the other end of the spectrum, Wyoming has only 26,866 Independent voters, while the District of Columbia has 82,177.

The Importance of Independent Voters

Historically speaking, these numbers are not an aberration. The data for independent voters according to this date also reveals that those who typically identify as independent voters typically outpaced both Republican and Democratic voters. Those statistics date back to 2004 and have shockingly remained steady.

Although most Independent voters will typically swing one way or the other, be it Democrat or Republican, the number of independent voters is still surprising. It may be impossible to determine how many of those voters are undecided or simply not politically inclined, but it is easy to determine just how important independent voters are.

Independent voters can (and have) determine the outcome of elections. Most candidates and political pundits talk about winning over independent voters to secure a win. Because independent voters are not dedicated to one of the two major political parties, they are more likely to be convinced to vote for a candidate than a voter affiliated with the opposite political party.

While the Democratic and Republican parties are the leading and most powerful parties, data and historical evidence shows they aren’t the most popular party. The numbers don’t always tell the whole story but there is truth in those figures. Independent voters are responsible for a considerable number of votes in each election cycle.