4 ms·

The US is the only country I know of where you’re asked if you want to register as a member of whatever party you like, for free, when registering to vote. Ind

The US is the only country I know of where you’re asked if you want to register as a member of whatever party you like, for free, when registering to vote. Indeed, it’s meaningless to compare party “membership” in the US to being a real, card-carrying, dues-paying member of an organization in another country.

zhdc1 6y ago
Voting patterns in the states are very polarised by party membership, so I don't know if the comparison is completely ill warranted. European parties can probably count on a higher level of active participation, but when it comes time to vote or donate, party membership definitely matters.
- mbg721 6y ago
  They are, but party membership in the US is mostly a proxy for taking a side in an already-hyper-polarized culture war. You could ask a couple of leading questions and figure out how somebody is going to vote, even without party affiliation.
- vidarh 6y ago
  Voting parties in many European countries are also highly polarised, but party affiliation and membership are very distinct in terms of commitment. Party meetings in European political parties often involve checking you off against a membership register that in many cases is secret (not shared with the government in any way), and often e.g. requires you to be up to date with membership dues to have access to the meetings. Membership subjects you to rules, including behavioural, and commitment to a shared aim, restrictions on support for other parties, and the like. You can be subject to disciplinary hearings, and can be expelled. For many parties e.g. publicly expressing support for another party can be an expulsion ground. Some parties will do things like check your social media in advance of granting membership. Many have rules that requires a waiting time from you have been a member of another party before you can be admitted, etc. You would not get more than a tiny fraction of the people who are registered Republicans or Democrats to subject themselves to that. At the same time many of these parties certainly reach far outside their membership for donations, and none but the very smallest rely only on their members for votes.

zhdc1 6y ago

Voting patterns in the states are very polarised by party membership, so I don't know if the comparison is completely ill warranted. European parties can probably count on a higher level of active participation, but when it comes time to vote or donate, party membership definitely matters.

mbg721 6y ago
They are, but party membership in the US is mostly a proxy for taking a side in an already-hyper-polarized culture war. You could ask a couple of leading questions and figure out how somebody is going to vote, even without party affiliation.
vidarh 6y ago
Voting parties in many European countries are also highly polarised, but party affiliation and membership are very distinct in terms of commitment. Party meetings in European political parties often involve checking you off against a membership register that in many cases is secret (not shared with the government in any way), and often e.g. requires you to be up to date with membership dues to have access to the meetings. Membership subjects you to rules, including behavioural, and commitment to a shared aim, restrictions on support for other parties, and the like. You can be subject to disciplinary hearings, and can be expelled. For many parties e.g. publicly expressing support for another party can be an expulsion ground. Some parties will do things like check your social media in advance of granting membership. Many have rules that requires a waiting time from you have been a member of another party before you can be admitted, etc. You would not get more than a tiny fraction of the people who are registered Republicans or Democrats to subject themselves to that. At the same time many of these parties certainly reach far outside their membership for donations, and none but the very smallest rely only on their members for votes.