The Party Influence Democracy does not work well on a large scale without competition among political parties and ideas. At their best, political parties mobilize and manifest citizens' interests, ideas, preferences, and needs. They permit voters to make choices from among ideas and candidates seeking election to public offices. Political parties help make democratic government responsible and accountable.
Fewer citizens view themselves as part of a political party.
The overall 20-year trend in North Dakota is a dramatic increase in the number of people declaring themselves as Independents. While parties dominate the candidate recruitment process, party loyalties are on the decline. This suggests that voters depend on the political parties to provide the choices, while they, themselves, judge the results. The district political party organization has displaced the role of precincts in many local areas of the state. The role of the precinct as the grass roots, candidate recruiter and social networker is diminishing.