In at least 15 states, registered independents now outnumber Democrats and Republicans combined. Colorado is the clearest case: as of 2026, roughly half the state's registered voters are unaffiliated, more than Democratic and Republican registration put together. Colorado isn't an outlier. From Massachusetts to Ohio, a growing list of states now has more voters who refuse both parties than voters who picked either one. In several of those states, independents are still locked out of the primaries that decide most elections.
Colorado's registered voters break down to roughly 50.7% unaffiliated, 24.7% Democratic, and 22.2% Republican, meaning unaffiliated voters alone outnumber the two major parties' combined registration. The shift has been building for years: unaffiliated voters already made up the largest primary-ballot bloc in the state's June 2026 primary, the first time that had happened in Colorado's history. Both major parties have lost registered voters in raw numbers even as the state's population has grown, while unaffiliated registration has climbed every year.
Source: Colorado voter registration data, as reported by Colorado Politics and The Denver Gazette (2026).
Independent Voter Project data puts independent or unaffiliated registration above the combined total of both major parties in at least 15 states, ranging from Massachusetts (67.3%) and Alaska (63.8%) at the high end to Ohio (36.5%) and New Hampshire (38.0%). Nationally, roughly 63 million voters are registered independent or unaffiliated, nearly as many as the 69.6 million registered Republicans. The pattern holds across very different kinds of states, from reliably blue Rhode Island to reliably red Mississippi and Tennessee, which suggests it isn't about either party losing ground to the other so much as both parties losing ground to neither.
Source: Independent Voter Project, state voter registration data (2026).
In Nevada, Oregon, and Connecticut, independent or unaffiliated voters outnumber both major parties combined, and none of them can vote in either party's primary under current rules. Nationally, an estimated 18 million independent voters live in states that lock them out of primary elections entirely. Since primaries, not general elections, decide most races in non-competitive districts, that means the single largest group of voters in several states has no say in who ends up on their November ballot.
Source: Independent Voter Project, primary access data (2026).
Which state has the highest share of independent voters?
Massachusetts, where roughly 67% of registered voters are unaffiliated with either major party, according to Independent Voter Project data.
Does Colorado really have more independents than Democrats and Republicans combined?
Yes. As of 2026, unaffiliated voters make up roughly 50.7% of Colorado's registered electorate, compared to about 24.7% Democratic and 22.2% Republican.
If independents are the largest group in some states, why don't they have more influence?
In several of those states, including Nevada, Oregon, and Connecticut, independents are barred from voting in either party's primary, even though primaries decide most races. Being the largest group on paper doesn't guarantee a voice in the process that matters most.
Does the Independent Center take a position on which states should open their primaries?
No. The Independent Center's research documents where independents already outnumber both parties and where primary rules do or don't include them, not which reform any particular state should adopt.
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