I assume the Libertarian party still has ballot status even thought they didn't come out and say it. So I guess that is good news, although I think you only have to get ballot status every two years.
Even though I think the Green Party sucks, I wish them success in getting voters. Mainly because that will dilute the power of the Republicans and Democrats. On that end it is bad news is the Greens only have 5,040 voters which ain't even close to giving them ballot status. Although I think the Greens currently have ballet status for some other reason.
Arizona registered independents now exceed Democrats
by Ginger Rough - Jan. 24, 2011 04:04 PM
The Arizona Republic
The number of Arizona voters who do not designate an affiliation with any political party - the category that includes independents - has exceeded one million for the first time, according to numbers released Monday by the Secretary of State's office.
It also marks the first time the number of independent voters is greater than those registered in one of the state's two major political parties -- in this case, the Democrats.
As of Jan. 1, there were 1,010,725 voters registered as "other" in the state, an increase of 28,248 since voter-registration statistics were released last fall. They account for 31.66 percent of Arizona's registered voters.
The number of registered Democrats, by comparison, stands at 1,008,689. The Democratic Party has added just over 5,700 voters since November's general election.
Jennifer Johnson, spokeswoman for the Arizona Democratic Party, said Monday that Democrats "know they have work to do."
She said the party's new chairman, Andrei Cherny, was committed to building a strong rapport with independents and "fed-up Republicans."
"He's a leader who understands how to speak to the center with a clear voice and message," Johnson said.
Meanwhile, the Republican Party -- which won all the statewide races in November and holds a strong majority in the Arizona Legislature -- picked up 10,803 voters during the same time period. There are now 1,142,602 registered Republican voters in the state.
But it's not all rosy in the Grand Old Party.
In the past two years, the percentage of voters who designate themselves as Republican has slipped from 37.1 to 35.8. Arizona Republican party spokesman Matt Roberts said the trend is worrisome, but he believes the GOP can lure new voters with strong leadership, both in state and in Washington, D.C.
"We've been concerned with these voter-enrollment trends over the past several years," Roberts said. "People are frustrated and rightfully so. The economy here in Arizona has not been fantastic to say the least. But hopefully we'll be able to get some positive results and get the state moved back in the right direction."
Libertarians continue to make up a little less than 1 percent of the state's total voter registration, with 24,880; there are 5,040 voters registered as Green Party members. Total voter registration is now 3,191,939.
Independents see surge in past decade
Candidates must work to attract voters
by Mary Jo Pitzl - Feb. 6, 2011 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
Coming on the heels of an election with big Republican victories, it's hard to believe that for decades, Arizona's voter rolls were dominated by Democrats.
But up into the 1970s, Democrats were the pre-eminent party, holding margins of 75 to 10 percent over Republicans.
That shifted in 1986, when Republicans pulled ahead. And late last month, independents edged Democrats to claim the spot of the second-biggest "party" in the state - behind Republicans - even though by definition, voters registered as "party not designated" are not a party.
The latest figures confirm a trend that has been building in Arizona and nationally, as independent voters continue to increase as a percentage of the voting population.
In Arizona, independent registration surged in the past decade, jumping from 18 percent in 2000 to 31.66 percent today.
What it means is that candidates are going to have to work harder not only to attract these voters but also to get them to turn out to vote, political consultants and political-science professors said.
Most political strategists agree that the way to win an independent's vote is to moderate, buffing off some of the harder edges of Republican and Democratic positions, said Fred Solop, chairman of the Department of Politics and International Affairs at Northern Arizona University.
"I think Janet Napolitano wrote the book on that," he said. She's a Democrat who won three statewide races (one for attorney general and two for governor) even as Democrats saw their numbers dropping.
"She had to pitch herself in a more centrist manner," Solop said. "She was strong on law and order."
The Democrat who fared the best in statewide races last November was Felecia Rotellini, who ran a competitive campaign for attorney general that was not decided until a week after Election Day. Observers attributed her relatively strong showing to her centrist message, although that was overpowered by the emotional appeal of Tom Horne's unwavering support for Senate Bill 1070, the state's immigration-enforcement law. Turning out the vote
Not everyone agrees that the voter-registration trend is a sign of a race to the middle.
After all, independent voters don't show up at the polls in numbers proportional to their surge in registration, said Nathan Sproul, managing partner with the Lincoln Strategy Group and former director of the Arizona Republican Party.
Turnout among independents last fall was about 15 to 20 percent, said Sproul, and that's pretty much what it was in 2000.
Jim Pederson, former chairman of the state Democratic Party, agrees. He said he'd rather see parties focus on the "lazy voter:" Someone who votes occasionally, perhaps only in presidential-election years.
There's a better chance of winning those voters than trying to entice people who register at rallies or during drives.
"You not only have to get that person to register to vote, you have to drag them to the polls," he said.
To Mario Diaz, who ran Napolitano's first gubernatorial campaign, as well as Sproul, the rise of independents signals the need for Republicans and Democrats to work harder to figure out how to attract enough independents to push their candidate into the winning column. Sproul said the parties need to do a lot more research to tease out which themes will resonate with independent voters. Long gone is the day when parties could count on people voting a straight ticket, he said.
To both consultants, that means fundraising will become pre-eminent.
