In all the "Bernie would have won/No he wouldn't" posts I've read...........

[Garrett78]

205. Logical or not, that's the reality.

I've explained more than once why people choose to be unaffiliated, and numerous studies back me up. You're making inferences that aren't backed up by the facts. For the last time, read the following: http://www.democraticunderground.com/12512663884. And follow the links. Numerous studies back me up. They don't support what you've inferred about "independents." Therefore, the premise of your OP is false.

From the above link:

While around four-in-10 voters say they’re independents, very few are actually swing voters. In fact, according to an analysis of voting patterns conducted by Michigan State University political scientist Corwin Smidt, those who identify as independents today are more stable in their support for one or the other party than were “strong partisans” back in the 1970s. According to Dan Hopkins, a professor of government at the University of Pennsylvania, “independents who lean toward the Democrats are less likely to back GOP candidates than are weak Democrats.”

On one hand, the growing distance between the two major parties has contributed to a dramatic decrease in the number of true swing voters. Smidt found that low-information voters today are as aware that there are significant differences between the two major parties as well-informed people were in the 1970s, and people who are aware of those differences tend to have more consistent views of the parties’ candidates. At the same time, says Smidt, many people who vote consistently for one party say they’re independents because they “view partisanship as bad” and see claiming allegiance to a party “as socially unacceptable.”

Source: https://www.thenation.com/article/what-everyone-gets-wrong-about-independent-voters/

But you should still click on the above link, because in that other thread I provide numerous links to articles on the topic of so-called "independents."

If you misrepresent who "independents" (or unaffiliateds) are, then you won't have a proper appreciation for how to reach them.

As for the 40% who don't vote in presidential elections and 60% who don't vote in mid-term elections, I certainly agree that the Democratic Party must do more to engage the disengaged. Voter suppression accounts for a certain percentage, but many don't take part by choice. Some, of course, are just apolitical. As hard as it is to believe, there are people who don't even know when elections are going on.