Veterans for All Voters: Why Military Communities Are Choosing Independence

The Big Picture

Veterans have always held a special place in American civic life. They’ve put skin in the game — literally. And for decades, both parties assumed they could count on the military and veteran community as a reliable partisan bloc. But something has shifted. Younger veterans, in particular, are registering as independents at growing rates, and organizations like Veterans for All Voters are leading a charge to reform the system that too often sidelines their voices. The independent movement is paying attention.

Zooming In

Who Are Veterans for All Voters?

Veterans for All Voters is a nonpartisan organization working to expand open primaries and ranked-choice voting across the United States. Their argument is straightforward: veterans swear an oath to the Constitution, not to a political party, and the electoral system should reflect that. As the Independent Center has documented, closed primaries effectively silence millions of Americans, including the growing number of veterans who register as independent or unaffiliated voters.

Their work centers on three pillars: open primaries, which allow all registered voters regardless of party to participate in taxpayer-funded primary elections; ranked-choice voting, which gives voters more expressive power at the ballot box; and voter education, which helps military and veteran communities understand the rules that govern their participation in each state.

Why Veterans Are Moving Toward Independence

The trend is real. According to Independent Center research on independent voter demographics, younger Americans across the board are rejecting partisan affiliation at higher rates than any previous generation. Veterans in this age cohort — many of whom served alongside people of wildly different political backgrounds and learned to subordinate ideology to mission — are arguably the most natural independent voters in the country.

Their reasons tend to cluster around a few themes:

• Frustration with partisan gridlock: Veterans who have operated in high-stakes, mission-driven environments often have little patience for political theater that produces no results
• Distrust of party infrastructure: Both parties have a mixed record on veterans’ issues, and neither has delivered consistently on healthcare, benefits, or transition support
• Belief in service over party: The military ethos of serving all Americans — not a partisan subset — translates naturally to independent political identity
• Economic concerns: Like other independent voters, veterans rank affordability, jobs, and fiscal responsibility above social and culture-war issues

The Primary Problem for Veterans

Here’s the systemic issue: in roughly half of U.S. states, veterans who register as independent are locked out of primary elections — even though their tax dollars fund them. As the Independent Center explains in “The Primary Problem,” this affects an estimated 50 million independent voters, including a disproportionate share of younger veterans who see no compelling reason to affiliate with either party.

Veterans for All Voters is working state-by-state to change this. Their campaigns have gained traction in [IC Staff: confirm current states where VfAV is actively campaigning], where open primary ballot initiatives are gaining cross-partisan support.

The Independent Center’s Alignment

The Independent Center’s mission — building a movement of independent voters who advocate for socially tolerant, fiscally focused solutions — maps closely onto the values that drive veterans toward independence. The overlap is not incidental. As IC’s research on what independent voters actually care about shows, the priorities that define the independent movement (economic responsibility, equal opportunity, choice, and effective government) are the same priorities that drive veteran advocacy.

Data Snapshot

• "Veterans for All Voters" is a trending keyword for independentcenter.org, currently ranking at position 6 with growing impression volume
• Roughly half of U.S. states use closed or semi-closed primaries, excluding independent voters from taxpayer-funded elections
• An estimated 50 million independent voters are affected by closed primary laws (Independent Center)
• Younger veterans are registering independent at higher rates than previous generations, mirroring the broader national trend
• 51% of Americans identify as politically independent (Gallup) — veterans are part of this majority

Independent Lens

Veterans for All Voters isn’t just an advocacy organization — it’s a signal. When the people who swore an oath to defend the Constitution start organizing to reform the political system that Constitution created, it’s worth paying attention. Open primaries and ranked-choice voting aren’t radical ideas. They’re practical tools for making democracy work better for everyone. Learn more about how the Independent Center is working to amplify the independent voter movement and add your voice.