As a reporter and journalism major, I spend a lot of time scanning headlines and reading the news. For many 20-somethings, that may seem like a middle-aged morning ritual, but it is a great way to stay fresh on current events. Usually, I don’t mind the sad and often depressing stories, but once every four years they become nearly unbearable. I’m referring, of course, to election season.

Don’t get me wrong, I do not take our elections for granted. Not everyone has been graced with a representative democracy and the opportunity to elect their own leaders every four years. What I dislike about the election process, however, is its effect on the electorate.

During an election year, people can't help but talk about politics. Media coverage of presidential hopefuls goes through the roof, and everyone from your college roommate to your grandmother forms an opinion. Nothing can ruin a family dinner or a night out with friends quite like a heated, poorly-informed political debate. I cringe nearly every time the topic comes up, not because I hate talking about, but because it seems so few people can talk about it without being offended.

I find people to be more on edge during election years. Every word, action and protest takes a little more offense. In my opinion, the American political process has become a skewed version of what it once was. Originally, it served as a way for people to find suitable candidates that they could stand behind. Today, it seems more like a way to divide the country in half and then turn those halves against each other.

That brings me to the two-party system. I’ve found our Democrat vs. Republican structure distasteful ever since I was asked to pick one as a senior in high school. At that time, I didn’t know enough about either party to register with one. I knew I didn't want to subject myself to the ongoing, ferocious battle between elephants and donkeys...so I didn't. My voter information card reads “No Party Affiliation.”

Traditionally, the idea of the “independent” or “no party” voter has been taboo, especially in Louisiana, which hosts closed presidential primaries. Only registered Republicans and Democrats can vote for their primary candidate, which leaves out over 650,000 Louisiana residents who don’t affiliate with either major party.

According to the Louisiana Secretary of State and Greater Baton Rouge Business Report, no party voters are the fastest growing political group in the state. That phenomenon also holds true nationwide, as told by a recent Gallup survey. In 2014, a record 43 percent of Americans identified as political independents, which shows the country’s increasing disdain for its own political system.

I think the increase in no party voters reflects Americans’ decreased confidence in their candidates—politicians who are groomed for either the Republican or Democratic party. If the nation’s independent voters are anything like myself, they are probably tired of a system that requires candidates to adapt their own values to those of a major party. If a candidate does not adopt a major party platform, he or she will not receive that party's support. Without backing from the Democratic Party or the GOP, a candidate has no chance of winning the presidency.

Today's political animosity and partisan values are a consequence of our flawed two-party system. As American voters, we too are coerced into adapting our values to those of one of the two major parties. Sure, there are other minor parties, but the American public is too cynical to vote for them. Most voters feel their voice is wasted on a candidate who has no chance of winning.

That is both my problem with politics and the reason I do not claim a political party. I believe it is our responsibility to vote for candidates who hold true to their own principles. At the same time, we must elect those who principles align with our own. Unfortunately, partisan, cookie-cutter politics often prevent those candidates from ever reaching the political arena.