Did you follow the link to the actual poll? https://news.gallup.com/poll/388781/political-party-preferences-shifted-greatly-during-2021.aspx?utm_source=newslett

Did you follow the link to the actual poll? https://news.gallup.com/poll/388781/political-party-preferences-shifted-greatly-during-2021.aspx?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=sendto_newslettertest&stream=top https://news.gallup.com/poll/388781/political-party-preferen... 42% may identify as "independent," but only 9% are independent without leaning Republican or Democrat. Not registering officially with the party, but still always voting for them, is quite a bit different from actually not having a preference or wanting a third party.