User talk:Ncguru

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Political party membership information

On the Wikipedia pages Democratic Party (United States), and Republican Party (United States), the sidebar shows "Membership:" followed by a number (~44M for Democrats, ~32M for Republicans). The footnote to this "membership" number shows that the number given actually refers to registered voters. This is not the same as party membership, and I suggest that the information be labeled "Registered voters."

It's understandable that the political parties will prefer to publish the large numbers that are given as "membership", but actual dues-paying memberships in these parties are very much smaller and should also be listed for information, if available. I have done some internet searches to try to find the actual party memberships, but it appears that the parties are not eager to publish this information. I have seen no national, state, or county party web page that gives membership numbers. In any case, I don't think Wikipedia wants to be complicit in making the parties seem larger than they are.

This comment is meant to apply to all political party pages on Wikipedia. Registered voters are not the same as membership. Thanks, Paul --Ncguru (talk) 13:44, 26 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]