While a growing number of Americans eschew actually belonging to or identifying with the Republican or Democratic parties, the fact is that most of them tend to vote reliably for one of the other.
That fits with most of the "independent" anecdata I have. Belonging to a political party not only opens one up to being associated with the sins of any idjit in that party, it means you get a lot more fundraising solicitations by mail and phone. Easier to call yourself an Independent and still mostly vote the single-party ticket. Hard to argue with that.
Americans Aren’t Becoming More Politically Independent, They Just Like Saying They Are
Gallup reported Wednesday that 43 percent of Americans identify as political independents — a record high. Thirty percent call themselves Democrats, and 26 percent call themselves Republicans…
I'm registered as an Independent and have been since the first day I could vote. Frankly, the Democrats weren't Liberal enough for me and there have been occasions where I voted for Republicans.
That said, I definitely vote for more Ds than Rs these days. If I were to register as a Democrat it probably wouldn't change anything in my voting habits.