Not only that, but if you don't register as a member of a political party you don't get to vote in the primaries -- only the national election.

And it's in the primaries that your vote counts the most, because they are counted state by state and party by party -- you can have the most influence over who is presented to you in the national election by choosing a party and registering for it in time for the primary in your state.

Of course, in the national election, you are not limited by party as to who you can vote for, that's only the primaries. (And if there are local issues on the ballot in the primary, you can still vote for those, too)

What we need to do is concentrate our power in one or the other of the established parties and present a candidate that they can't ignore because our coalition is backing that person.