SAN MATEO -- — Medea Bern, once a registered Republican, is one of a growing number of California voters who shun party membership and declare themselves independent. In the upcoming presidential election, that makes her the kind of voter all the candidates would like to reach.
But when it comes to California's Feb. 5 primary, there is only one major party where she's welcome: the Democratic Party. She isn't allowed to cast her ballot in the Republican primary, and that upsets her.
She might be inclined to vote for Republican Sen. John McCain, but instead finds herself weighing a choice between Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton.
"It really makes me mad," she said. "I haven't decided which candidate to vote for, but I'm not happy that my voice is eliminated on the Republican side. Don't they trust the independent vote?"
Unlike the New Hampshire primary, where huge numbers of independents were embraced by both parties, California's independents will be limited to the Democratic or American Independent Party primaries.
Some political analysts -- including some Republicans -- say the California Republican Party blundered when it decided last year that only registered Republicans could vote in its presidential primary, unlike 2004.
"It's pretty hard to build a big tent if you don't let anybody else in," said Dan Schnur, a veteran Republican political consultant. "It doesn't make sense for a party that wants to and needs to broaden its base to throw this kind of obstacle in the path of an independent voter who wants to hang out with us."
Not surprisingly, the Democratic Party is delighted at the prospect of attracting hundreds of thousands of independents to vote for one of its candidates next month. Democratic strategists believe that an independent who votes Democratic in February is likely to vote for a Democratic candidate in November too.
"The Republicans have been caught with their pants down," said Democratic Party campaign advisor Bob Mulholland. "The Republicans are going to create a lot of anger out there."
In California, the number of voters who decline to register with a party has soared to 19.3%, double the 1992 percentage.
At the same time, the number of registered Democrats has fallen to 42.7% and the number of Republicans has declined to 33.6%, according to the office of Secretary of State Debra Bowen.
