The Independent Voter in American Politics

The Research Centre for the Study of Parties and Democracy (REPRESENT) is delighted to be welcoming Thom Reilly (Arizona State University) to present his new book on who independent voters are and why they matter in American politics.

Thom Reilly is Professor & Co-Director, Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy, School of Public Affairs, Arizona State University. He is author of the book (along with colleagues Jacqueline Salit and Omar Ali) The Independent Voter (2023, Routledge Press).

Convenor: Fernando Casal Bertoa (University of Nottingham)

All welcome. This seminar will be held as a hybrid. Please indicate in your registration whether you wish to take part via our online platform or in person. The in-person event will take place in Law and Social Sciences A3 on the University Park Campus at the University of Nottingham.

Abstract:

The continuing flight of millions of voters from the Republican and Democratic parties is reshaping the US political landscape in ways no one can control or even predict. It threatens the very basis on which campaigns and elections have been analysed. This is a challenge to how America has for generations thought about politics: that it’s a two-party game and people vote for the party they’re loyal to. With growing numbers of independent voters, that’s changing. This presentation provocatively grapples with who independent voters are and why they matter in American politics.