Yea it never made any sense to me

You don’t need to register your political affiliation in the us. You can register as independent. As far as i know it just dictates what ballot you’ll get (which is silly)

It varies based on state. In Ohio, I select the ballot I want for primaries when I go to vote despite not being registered for any political party.

That’s still registering your political affiliation with the government.

Which is still fucked up.

It’s unaffiliated. Independent is a party. Unaffiliated is no party.

In some states “Independent” is a party, in others it mean unaffiliated.

Who wants to bet we’ll see attempts to nullify votes that don’t fit the declared affiliation before the next elections are over?

You have to be registered with a party to take place in that party’s rigged primaries.

Only some states do that. Mine doesn’t

State of Michigan gives primary ballots with both major parties and tells you to only fill out one of the sides. Meaning your affiliation is not registered with the state.

Not all states collect political affiliations, but in any case, you don’t have to register a party. I have been an Unaffiliated Independent since I first registered to vote in 1977. I can’t vote in primaries, but neither party can count on my vote, and they have to earn it every election.