At the age of 18, I had the opportunity to register to vote. However, one party does not appeal to me over another. I look at the candidates and what they believe in. This is something I believe every American voter should do. 

On some issues I lean far left, on others I lean far right. Most times, I am more of a middle-the-road type of person. This is why I am registered as Independent. However, a person registered as Independent is not allowed to vote in the Presidential Primaries because in Louisiana, the Presidential Primaries is a closed primary. 

A closed primary means that one must declare their party affiliation to vote. Only Republicans and Democrats are allowed to vote for the Presidential Primary in our state. The Presidential Primaries are when the parties choose their Presidential candidates and they take place before the Presidential election. The dates for Presidential Primaries vary from state to state. Louisiana’s Presidential Primary took place Saturday, Mar. 5. 

Needless to say, my voice was silenced, a fact that I find absolutely absurd. It is as if my home took away my Constitutional right to vote along with anyone else who is not a strict Democrat or Republican. Yes, I know that I can still vote in the Presidential election along with every other American voter, oh little comfort. 

In 2014, a Gallup poll showed that 42 percent of Americans are registered as Independent. Not every state has a closed primary election when it comes to the Presidential Primary Election. But, none the less, this means that if this trend continues, over half the country will identify as Independent. 

I believe that Louisiana needs to take this into consideration and give every other party the right to vote in the Presidential Primary, a right that has been denied for far too long. 

In fact, I go as far as to say that we shouldn’t even have a division of parties when it comes to voting. I believe that by picking a specific party when you register to vote, you are taking away a certain freedom of voting that every American citizen deserves. Unnecessary constraints have been created in who we vote for.

I hear that, “Together we stand, divided we fall.” Maybe it is time for everyone to identify as Independent so we don’t have this division in America, a country that is ran as a two-party system. A two-party system is a party system where two major political parties dominate politics within a government and in America that would be the Republic and Democrat Party. 

How great of a country can we truly be when votes are being silenced in the Presidential Primary and we live in a country that is divided on pretty much every political point of importance that will impact future generations to come?