In April of 2005 Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano signed into law a Senate bill that had the following effect on independent voter registration in Arizona.

         2000-2002                   107,715
         2002-2004                    165,483
         2004-2006                      26,483

         The legislation created a new voter registration form for Arizona on which the option to register independent was removed leaving only a space designated Specify Party Preference.   A party spokesman now on the state committee of his party boasted that the problem of Arizona citizens registering as independent voters in large numbers had been remedied by a new voter registration form. 
          The political parties have made a grave error by launching an attack against independent voters, not only in Arizona, but in other states as well.   They would have done better to do what they did from 1800 until recent years, ignore independent voters completely except for passing election laws at state level designed to prevent independent voters from being candidates for office.  Their attack on the ability of Americans to register as independent voters was an attack on the Constitution itself. 
           Originally, all voters in the United States were independent voters.  There were no organized political parties in the United States when the government was started.  In 1792 President George Washington warned against the formation of political parties in elective government, saying that their effect would be to destroy freedom and that it was the duty of all Americans to discourage political parties. 
            Political parties are self-created societies that seek special standing and special privileges in government the same way European royalty have special status in European governments.  It is time we heeded the advice of President Washington and started to discourage them here.