Steve Dykes/AP

The media is silent on the issue of independent voters. Who is an independent voter? Someone not registered with either the Democratic or Republican Party.

As a vagabond Millennial who has lived in 5 states in the past 5 years, I change my registration a lot, depending on where I live at the moment. I suspect many Millennials, whose job security is iffy at best, pingpong around the country doing the same. I rarely have enough time in one place to become complacent with the establishment. In 12 months, I’m likely gone again.

The key determining factor of whether I register to vote as a Democrat or an Independent, however, depends on a state’s primary practices. In Pennsylvania, where I live now, we have closed primaries. Closed primaries mean only those registered with a Party at least a month in advance can cast a vote for the Presidential nominee. This means that in order for me to vote for Bernie in April, I had to register with the Democratic Party. As you all know, I’m an unapologetic Socialist. I have published pieces about how much I abhor the DNC. And yet, you guessed it, I’m a registered Democrat — a Democrat in Name Only.

A DINO, if you will.

In Arizona, a closed primary state, thousands of people who tried to change their affiliation from Independent to Democrat in order to vote for Bernie Sanders have filed grievances with election officials for mishandling their party-change paperwork. Many people who thought they were registered as Democrats were told their names could not be found in the books and given provisional ballots. Says one voter, “Almost every person I know that is a Sanders supporter was given a provisional ballot, including myself. I’m not a sore loser, I’m just pissed that my state is either inept or intentionally doing this. I’m pissed that my vote won’t count.” Was there election fraud? Maybe. But the point is this: the closed primary system is inherently disenfranchising.

If I lived in a Caucus state, I wouldn’t have to go through the charade of being a DINO. In Caucus states, such as Iowa, you can show up the day of the primary and vote for whoever you want. Your party affiliation (or lack thereof) doesn’t prevent you from casting a vote.

Why does this matter?

Because Bernie Sanders dominates in Caucus states.

Alaska? Bernie.

Colorado? Bernie.

Hawaii? Bernie.

Kansas? Bernie.

Maine? Bernie.

Minnesota? Bernie.

Nevada and Iowa went to Hillary, but were statistical deadheats.

But in Closed primaries where Hillary does the best, unaffiliated Independents are shut out entirely from casting a vote unless they do what I did and register as DINOs. And this matters. According to a 2015 Gallup poll, 42% of Americans identify as Independents. That means there are FAR more Independents in America than registered Democrats. Let that sink in.

I mean look at that! There have never been as few Democrats as there are right now. And there have never been as many Independents as there are right now.

I suspect a lot of Americans have had enough of 25 years of Clintonocracy, but who knows. All that’s obvious from this data is that more and more people want out of the DNC and out of the two-party system.

And of those Independent voters, the vast majority are choosing Bernie Sanders. We’re seeing this bear out in Caucus and open primaries:

In the New Hampshire primary, 40% of Democratic primary voters identified as Independent; Bernie Sanders won 73% of those votes

In Michigan, an open primary state, Bernie won 71% of the Independent vote.

When Independents are permitted to participate in the primary, they overwhelmingly vote for Bernie. This trend is so worrisome, the Washington Post (which hasn’t stopped shitting on Bernie Sanders since December) published a piece called “How Bernie Sanders is Hijacking the Democratic Party.” How? Because he keeps winning Independent votes:

To put a fine point on it: In eight of the 15 contests for which we have data, 40 percent or more of Sanders’s support came from independent voters. In at least three states — New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Michigan — those independent votes likely handed Sanders the win.

Oh no. How horrid. Democracy, yick!!

But according to that poll I cited, only 29% of Americans identify as Democrats. And of those precious few, they quite literally split between Hillary and Bernie.

What the punditocracy seems to ignore is Independent voters like me have to go through all the garbage of registering with a Party I can’t stand so I can vote for a candidate who finally represents my values. You never hear about us DINOs. You only hear bitching from Washington Post op-ed writers about how Bernie doesn’t care about the needs of Party. Which is true. As a long-time Independent who has never benefited from the DNC’s electoral machine while campaigning in Vermont, I’m pretty sure Sanders doesn’t give shit about the DNC.

And as a registered Democrat in Name Only, neither do I.

The DNC can go fuck themselves, frankly.

Ignore us at your peril.