What is political party membership in the United States of America?
Many states in our country ask about political party affiliation when a person registers to vote. Michigan does not because primary elections are open, meaning voters who have not declared a party affiliation are allowed to participate. In the U.S., primary elections are contests that determine who will appear on the ballot in a general election; general elections determine who takes office. But leave aside voting and elections for a moment. What is party affiliation? We might define it the way that polling organizations measure and report it. The Pew Research Center, for example, asks respondents a single question at the end of its surveys. The question is, “In politics today, do you consider yourself a Republican, Democrat or Independent?” Pew’s article, “ Party Affiliation: What it is and What it Isn’t ,” goes on to explain the reasoning behind measuring party affiliation this way. “This question is not intended to measure how respondents are registered, how they have voted in the p