This new branch allows you to select voters who have switched from Democrat to Republican or Republican to Democrat within the last four years. Only changes from one major party to the other are tracked so this selection will not include those who were formerly registered as unaffiliated, independent or with a minor party who are now Democrat or Republican.
Example: Select an area, this can be an entire state, a particular district, a neighborhood or even a polygon-selected area that you define. In this example, the selection is Allegheny County, PA:
Next, make a party selection, in this example, the selection is “Republican”:
Finally, open the “Voter Has Changed Parties” branch, you’ll be able to see and select Allegheny County Republicans who switched their registration from Democrat within the last four years.
Important Note: This calculation will have less meaning in states where party affiliation is modeled in some way by L2 and identified as “likely” rather than being directly reported by the state. Also, note that voters may maintain their registration with one party but vote for the candidate of the opposite party at the time of a general election. These voters are not and cannot be tracked with the data in this branch. This selection branch identifies only those who have taken an affirmative action to switch their registration from one major party to the other.
