I’m not a political scientist, campaign consultant, or party operative.
I’m a Florida voter who got frustrated with the choices we were being given and eventually stopped accepting that those were the only choices worth discussing.
That frustration goes back at least to the 2008 presidential election. Over the years, I kept running into versions of the same argument: You may not like either candidate, but one of them is going to win. Pick the lesser of two evils.
I understood the logic. I just became less convinced that voters should accept it indefinitely.
If both choices fall below the standard I think someone should meet before earning my vote, why am I obligated to support one of them? If I vote for someone else, am I wasting my vote? If I refuse to participate, does that send a stronger message—or simply make me easier to ignore?
Those questions eventually became Independent Florida.
I’m Independent, but That Doesn’t Mean I’m in the Middle
I’m registered to vote in Florida with no party affiliation. But Independent Florida isn’t based on the idea that Republicans are too far right, Democrats are too far left, and the correct answer must be somewhere halfway between them.
Sometimes one side has the better argument. Sometimes neither does. Sometimes an idea outside both parties makes more sense.
I don’t think political independence requires splitting every disagreement down the middle. It requires being willing to judge an idea on its merits rather than starting with the party label and working backward.
That also means I don’t expect every reader to reach the same conclusions I do.
The goal isn’t to replace one political loyalty with another. It’s to think more carefully about what earns our support in the first place.
Why I Created Independent Florida
A lot of political discussion begins after we’ve already accepted the choices.
Candidate A or Candidate B? Republican or Democrat? Which one is worse? Which one are you most afraid of?
I’m more interested in some of the questions that come before those.
Why do we keep getting choices so many voters say they don’t want? What incentives are we creating with the way we vote? When does voting strategically make sense, and when does it simply teach a political party that we’ll eventually support whoever it nominates? Can voting for someone who probably won’t win still accomplish something? And if neither candidate has earned your vote, what is the most useful thing you can actually do?
I don’t pretend those questions always have easy answers. In fact, one of the reasons Independent Florida exists is because I think some of the standard answers are much too easy.
How I Approach What We Publish
Independent Florida is commentary and analysis, and I don’t want to disguise opinion as objective reporting.
When I’m making an argument, it’s an argument. When something is a factual claim—an election rule, polling result, historical event, vote total, law, or other verifiable information—I want it supported by reliable evidence, with primary sources used whenever practical.
I also want strong opposing arguments taken seriously. If there’s a good reason someone might vote for the lesser of two evils, vote strategically instead of third party, or disagree with one of my conclusions, pretending that argument doesn’t exist wouldn’t make my position stronger.
Sometimes the counterargument changes my conclusion. Sometimes it adds an important qualification. Sometimes I still disagree with it.
That’s part of thinking independently too.
Yes, Independent Florida Uses AI
I also want to be transparent about how this site is made.
I use artificial intelligence as part of the editorial process. AI helps with research, fact-checking, testing arguments, identifying counterarguments, organizing ideas, editing, and drafting.
But I don’t hand an AI a topic and publish whatever comes back.
The ideas on Independent Florida are developed through an editorial process in which I direct the argument, challenge conclusions, reject things that don’t reflect what I mean, add my own reasoning and experiences, and review and approve the final article before it is published.
That’s why articles identify me as Reviewed & Approved by Greg Martin.
AI is a tool in the process. I’m responsible for what Independent Florida publishes.
No Party Is Entitled to Your Vote
If there’s one principle underneath much of what I write here, it’s probably this:
No political party is entitled to your vote.
Your vote should have to be earned.
That doesn’t mean you should never vote Republican or Democrat. It doesn’t mean you should always vote third party. It doesn’t mean compromise is bad or that every imperfect candidate should be rejected.
It means fear, habit, party loyalty, and the argument that the other guy is worse shouldn’t automatically end the conversation.
I created Independent Florida because I think voters have more agency than our political system often encourages us to use. Better choices aren’t guaranteed just because we demand them. But it’s hard to see why the parties would feel much pressure to give dissatisfied voters something better if we’ve already promised to vote for them anyway.
Independent Florida is my attempt to keep asking that question—and the others that follow from it.
You don’t have to agree with me.
I’d rather you think about it.