A reader passes along this story from USA Today. Excerpt:
WASHINGTON – More than 2.5 million voters have left the Democratic and Republican parties since the 2008 elections, while the number of independent voters continues to grow.
A USA TODAY analysis of state voter registration statistics shows registered Democrats declined in 25 of the 28 states that register voters by party. Republicans dipped in 21 states, while independents increased in 18 states.
The trend is acute in states that are key to next year’s presidential race. In the eight swing states that register voters by party, Democrats’ registration is down by 800,000 and Republicans’ by 350,000. Independents have gained 325,000
This week, the Republican Party lost one member, and the Independents gained one: me. I’ve been a registered Republican nearly all my adult life, but when I registered here in Louisiana, I put down “Independent.” I’m a conservative, for sure, and expect to vote Republican most of the time, by default. But I don’t want to be formally affiliated with that bunch, and I consider myself more open to considering Democratic candidates than I have been.
The reader who sent this to me — sorry, L., but I don’t know if you want to be identified, so I err on the side of caution — adds:
I wonder if there are parallels to folks leaving (or not caring about) organized religion in droves. I suspect there are. I also suspect here that there’s an opportunity for a remaking of the political landscape over the next decade or so.
An interesting thought. What do you think, readers?
Marcus 
Vox populi 
Harry Beadle 
David Lindsay: The way we are moving in the former colonies is toward primaries in which all the candidates of all the parties participate, and the top two get to run in the general election. Our founders envisioned a system of elections without parties. Parties developed anyway. As those parties settled into machines, dominated by their own self-perpetuating elite, reformers demanded a popular voice in selecting who the nominees of each party would be — since that generally limited the scope of who could possibly hope to win. Now, we just want to be free to vote for the best candidate, regardless of party label. This will, hopefully, return the status of “party” to the private voluntary association that our parties suddenly claim to be whenever laws are passed by referendum that would limit the power of the party leadership.
I don’t know how your own proposal would work in Britain, but it wouldn’t work here. I am no fan of proportional representation, but I do favor an order-of-preference ballot. That way, I can vote first for the candidate who really fits my principles, second for the lesser evil, and third for the barely tolerable, without worrying that by voting for what I really want, I am throwing away my vote and letting someone truly disgusting be elected.