I slightly disenfranchised myself this Sunday when I registered to vote in the California March primary election. It’s a little anger-inducing for me, but in order to stay true to who I am, I ended up doing something I’d thought of since I became eligible to vote but didn’t have the willpower to do. So, in the spirit of “Public Disclosure,” it’s time for me to open up about my newest political party affiliation for our 2024 election year: none.

I’m a proud independent voter, generally averse to the two-party system. Now, I’ve finally got the California ballot to match — even if it means I have fewer options or offices to vote for.

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Most states in the union aren’t kind to us independents during primary season, making many of us, even if we don’t technically consider ourselves members of one of the two parties, resort to affiliating with one anyway so we can vote in its — oftentimes — closed, members-only presidential primaries or feel more included in the political process. You know, kind of like when you didn’t really choose to play tag during recess in elementary school, but you’d suck it up and run around that damn soccer field anyway so you weren’t left out. 

And with that uber-childish analogy in hand, I decided that registering with a party that doesn’t reflect the wide range of my beliefs just to vote in their members-only primary was, in short, a stupid-ass disservice to myself. I still think so, even though my disaffiliation is mostly to make a point, and even if this action does nothing to redeem or advocate for the sea of disillusioned American moderates who feel left out by political party messaging year after year, campaign after campaign. 

This reckoning is an old one, too; the United States’ own Founding Fathers, funnily enough, argued for and against political parties repeatedly as the young nation saw its first presidential administrations. Alexander Hamilton called political parties “the most fatal disease” of popular governments. James Madison, in “Federalist No. 10,” said, “Liberty is to faction what air is to fire, an aliment without which it instantly expires.” Thomas Jefferson alleged that men will always divide themselves into two distinct parties.

“In every country, these two parties exist, and in every one where they are free to think, speak, and write, they will declare themselves,” Jefferson wrote. “Call them … by whatever name you please; they are the same parties still and pursue the same object.”

But even if the debate will live on for years, we’re at an impasse when it comes to who we allow to vote in our states’ primary elections. We’re not smiling with wooden teeth or fighting off a tyrannical monarchy anymore — our country is over 247 years old now, and political independence is gaining sentience: 52% of Generation Z and a very similar proportion of millennials do not identify with either major political party, according to Gallup. Our two youngest generations of voters have a higher proportion of independents than they have in decades, much more than our parents’ and grandparents’ generations. 

Should those millions of voters be left out of choosing presidential primary candidates who reflect their goals for the future simply because they aren’t in that candidate’s party? Should a right-leaning independent in California be boxed out of voting for Nikki Haley (example, not an endorsement) on March 5 unless they formally register as a Republican? 

I’ll leave it to you to answer for yourselves, but in the meantime, this is where I want my fellow California independents to listen up: Not only do we have our primary approaching, but, depending on who you’re voting for, you may still be able to vote for a party-affiliated presidential candidate if you jump through a few extra hoops.

If you’ve selected “No Party Affiliation” like me and you’d like to cast a vote for the U.S. president on March 5, your default vote-by-mail ballot for this election will not have any candidates for this office. The workaround? You’re able to request a “cross-over” ballot application to include presidential candidates from one of these three parties: the American Independent Party (different from the ‘independent’ I’ve been yakking about), the Libertarian Party or the Democratic Party. 

Simply call, email or submit the application in person to your county’s election office, and you’re on your way to being just as active as the Democrats and Republicans next door, albeit with fewer options. And if you’re wondering if it’s worth it to go through all this just to vote for president at all, I’ll leave you with this: Staying true to yourself, your principles, your beliefs — down to even the smallest act of punching a ballot — is priceless.