Nate Silver

Factual · Their own work or organisation

“In fact, in spring 2016, I registered as a Republican to vote for John Kasich in the New York presidential primary.”

Nate Silver, author of Silver Bulletin · 12 September 2023 · Not everyone who disagrees with you is a closet right-winger (Silver Bulletin)

In spring 2016, Nate Silver registered as a Republican to vote for John Kasich in the New York presidential primary.

Unresolvable The public record could not settle it.

What would count as true or false

Silver's own later statement is not enough on its own. Look for corroboration: New York voter registration records showing his party enrolment and when it changed, his voting history for the 2016-04-19 New York Republican primary, or contemporaneous 2016 statements or reporting. TRUE: the evidence shows he enrolled as a Republican in early 2016 and voted in the April 2016 New York Republican primary, with Kasich as his choice. MOSTLY TRUE: the evidence confirms all of this, but the registration date differs slightly from 'spring 2016' (e.g. late winter 2016 or before the October 2015 party-change deadline). MOSTLY FALSE: he was enrolled as a Republican, but the evidence shows he did not vote in that primary, or voted for someone other than Kasich. FALSE: the records show he was not enrolled as a Republican for the 2016 New York primary.

Evidence

1. Nate Silver on “Blueskyism” Why Evolution Is True (Jerry Coyne's blog) · 10 September 2025

   “He added that he has voted for the Democratic candidate in every presidential election he has participated in, though he voted for John Kasich in the 2016 New York Republican presidential primary as he believed”

2. A Report On Voter Access In The 2016 Presidential Primary New York State Office of the Attorney General (Civil Rights Bureau) · December 2016

   “The deadline to change parties or newly enroll in a party in order to vote in the April 19th Presidential Primary was October 9, 2015, 193 days prior to Primary Day.”

3. A Report On Voter Access In The 2016 Presidential Primary New York State Office of the Attorney General (Civil Rights Bureau) · December 2016

   “the State’s deadline for first time registrants to enroll in either the Democratic or Republican Parties was March 25, 2016.”

4. A Report On Voter Access In The 2016 Presidential Primary New York State Attorney General (Civil Rights Bureau) · December 2016

   “Voters submitting a change-of-party or new party enrollment request after that date were not eligible to participate in their new or changed party's primary until 2017.”

5. A Report On Voter Access In The 2016 Presidential Primary New York State Attorney General (Civil Rights Bureau) · December 2016

   “In the case of the 2016 Presidential Primary, the State's deadline for first time registrants to enroll in either the Democratic or Republican Parties was March 25, 2016.”

6. A Report On Voter Access In The 2016 Presidential Primary New York State Attorney General (Civil Rights Bureau) · December 2016

   “their requested changes in party affiliation were not effective until after the 2016 General Election, thus depriving them of the opportunity to vote in the Primary.”

7. Nate Silver - Wikipedia Wikipedia Own record

   “though he registered as a Republican and voted for John Kasich in the 2016 New York Republican presidential primary”

8. A Report On Voter Access In The 2016 Presidential Primary New York State Office of the Attorney General, Civil Rights Bureau · December 2016

   “The deadline to change parties or newly enroll in a party in order to vote in the April 19th Presidential Primary was October 9, 2015, 193 days prior to Primary Day.”

9. A Report On Voter Access In The 2016 Presidential Primary New York State Office of the Attorney General, Civil Rights Bureau · December 2016

   “Voters submitting a change-of-party or new party enrollment request after that date were not eligible to participate in their new or changed party’s primary until 2017.”

10. Ivanka And Eric Trump Won't Be Voting For Their Father In NY CBS News (Associated Press) · 11 April 2016

    “New York’s voter laws set Oct. 9, 2015, as the enrollment deadline for changing party enrollment in order to participate in the state’s 2016 party primaries”

Reasoning

The only sources saying Silver voted for Kasich in the 2016 New York Republican primary are E1, a 2025 blog post repeating what Silver said, and E7, Wikipedia, which is marked as not independent. Neither is a voter record or a 2016 report. The New York Attorney General's report (E2, E4, E8, E9) and an AP report (E10) say voters switching parties had to do so by October 9, 2015, to vote in that primary. Only first-time registrants could enroll as late as March 25, 2016 (E3, E5). So a "spring 2016" registration would only have counted if he was registering for the first time, but no evidence shows his enrollment status or voting history either way. Without that corroboration, the claim can't be confirmed or ruled out.

Cite this claim

Nate Silver, “In spring 2016, Nate Silver registered as a Republican to vote for John Kasich in the New York presidential primary.” (said 12 September 2023). Verdict: unresolvable. Reliability API, claim c_e2d9c6144265, method 0.1.0+28da144b. https://epistacklabs.com/claims/c_e2d9c6144265