Independent voters, who get shut out of primary elections and are ignored by Republicans and Democrats, proved in the 2016 election that squandering their voices is politically dangerous.

Following Tuesday’s fiasco in which voters across waited in line for hours to cast their ballots, Gov. Doug Ducey called for independents to be allowed to vote in Arizona’s presidential preference elections.

At last, a spotlight is on the most important group of voters in Arizona: independents. Voters are fleeing the parties, including a majority of new millennial voters, who refuse to join a party in the first place.

The race for Arizona governor has created an odd mix of arguments in a state where recent gubernatorial contests were dominated by divisive issues like immigration. The shift away from hardline rhetoric and toward more nuanced positions marks an effort by both candidates to negate their opponents' key points as they court the growing bloc of independent voters in Arizona.

The revelation that independents outnumber Republicans in Arizona and are now the state’s largest bloc of registered voters gives a misleading impression about the impact they have on elections here.

Libertarians, Greens will look to courts if election referendum fails

Even if the referendum drive against the omnibus elections measure HB2305 falls short, Greens and Libertarians may still be able to strike down a requirement in the legislation that dramatically increases the number of signatures they need to get on the ballot.

Third-party candidates may become a rare breed in Arizona.

HB2305, an omnibus elections bill, dramatically raises the number of signatures that Green Party, Libertarian and other third-party candidates will need to qualify for the ballot. Whereas signature requirements have historically been based on the number of registered votes a party has, the bill equalizes the requirements for all parties.

Arizona Capitol Times Assistant Editor Bill Bertolino discusses the low early ballot returns and the surge in independent voter registration.

Voter registration in Arizona has spiked, adding more than 300,000 people to the rolls in the last two years. The increase indicates that Arizona's political landscape is drawing the public's interest, but many are also registering as independents, which could mean that disaffection with the established parties lingers.

Voter-registration figures showing that independents are increasing their share of Arizona's electorate reflect that the major political parties are becoming more polarized and alienating voters, a political scientist said Oct. 27.