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 past, or how they have thought of themselves throughout most of their lives. Like most other questions on public opinion surveys, it is intended to measure current feelings about politics—in this case, their feelings of affiliation or disaffection with the major political parties.”

In other words, the full substance of affiliation might be little more than a momentary feeling. It could strike suddenly in the voting booth or the shower, causing a flip from blue to red or even green. The Pew Research Center has invested quite a lot in the study of “affiliation” and its conceptual cousin “identification.” Meanwhile, the phrase “political party membership” appears completely absent from their research (as far as Google can tell).

So what is political party membership and why isn’t Pew studying it?

One reason might be that it’s too difficult to measure. Political parties cannot be trusted to report accurately on their own membership numbers lest they inflate them to appear more popular. Moreover, each party has its own requirements for joining and maintaining membership.

In a study titled “The Changing Nature of Political Party Membership,” University of Houston political scientist Susan Scarrow concludes, “the paradoxical story of party membership in the early 21st century is one of numerical decline accompanied by a possible increase in political relevance.”

Scarrow’s research suggests that in established democracies around the world, enrollment began to decline in the 1980s or 1990s. In addition, inactive members far outnumbered active members in every country.

“In most cases, self-described active members make up no more than 7%,” said the study.

For several years I’d wanted to become an active member of a political party. Finally, a bit over a year ago, I signed up and started attending meetings. Before long, I found myself sitting on my organization’s national committee, its highest decision making body, and nominated for federal office. The road from disaffected and disillusioned to active and engaged can be surprisingly short.

Party affiliation trends in the U.S. suggest historic lows in citizens’ confidence in our country’s two major parties. Strong polling majorities said they did not want Biden or Trump to seek reelection.

Voting and affiliating may no longer be enough (if it ever was). It’s time to become active members and take control of political parties and processes. Sometimes the will to power is nothing more than a simple choice.