Third Party Struggles

In chapter ten of the textbook, presidential campaigns and elections are discussed at great length. Every presidential election in the history of the United States has been dominated by the two-party system. Future elections don’t seem to be changing anytime soon either. A reported 57% of Americans find that the democratic and republican parties have been lacking a third party is needed, yet the highest percent of votes gotten by a third party presidential candidate is only 27% by Theodore Roosevelt in 1912. The American people want to hear from another voice, so why haven’t we heard it?

Regulations in debate qualification and a negative stigma have kept the third party’s from seriously competing with the two major parties in the US. The CPD (Commission on Presidential Debates) have set an impossible expectation for third parties to meet in order to participate in the debates. Participating parties must have more or equal to 15% of the nationwide popular vote in 5 recognized national polls. The CPD also required third parties to appear on enough state ballots to mathematically win the election. This requirement disadvantages the smaller third parties that must use a significant amount of their time and resources since every state has their own ballot filing deadlines. The only time a non-major candidate participated in the presidential debate was Ross Perot. Perot polled at 7 percent and was only invited because both parties thought they could use him to take votes away from the other.

Another factor that has kept third-party candidates from getting national spotlight is the negative stigma surrounding their parties. Most Americans would consider voting for a third party as a waste of a vote. Everyone knows a third party candidate won’t win a presidential election, so many people don’t see the point in voting for a loser. If not labeled a wasted vote third party voters are also seen as protest votes. An example of protest voting is when Bernie supporters refused to vote for Hillary Clinton, instead, writing in Saunders name on the ballot or voting for a third party. Third parties need to shake the stigma of being a wasted vote, by continuing to grow their platform and supporter size through furious and constant campaigning.

Many people believe that if the candidate can’t win, why should we waste time listening to them at a debate. It doesn’t matter if the candidate can win, it’s about the spreading of fresh and new ideas that can influence voters and the policies of the two major parties. Third parties play a vital role in influencing the policy of the two major parties. The influence third parties have on the two major parties also can weaken the popularity of the party. Democrats and Republican work hard to adjust their platforms to gain the largest group of voters. Many times this leads to policy change specifically aimed to win over third parties supporters. Establishment Republicans will often work together with more conservative political groups when enacting policy geared towards the niche message of the third party, in order to gain the support of third party voters. party, in order to gain the support of third party voters.

The American people have a desire to hear a serious third voice in politics. Through the support of voters and political activists, third parties can gain more exposure. I believe the American people are tired of the Democrats and Republican and want to hear a new voice. What do you think?

Faucheux, Ron. “This Was the Year a Third Party Candidate Could Have Won the Election.” Quartz, Quartz, 19 Oct. 2016, qz.com/813355/2016-presidential-election-this-was-the-year-a-third-party-candidate-could-have-won-the-presidency/.

Heinz, Brett. “Why Third Parties Can’t Win.” The Odyssey Online, 31 Oct. 2017, www.theodysseyonline.com/why-third-parties-cant-win.

4 Responses to "Third Party Struggles"

Andrew Griffin says:

March 25, 2018 at 9:08 pm

James-

I find your blog post convincing. The Democratic and Republican parties both are rife with corruption, taking money from corporate donors and showing favoritism towards different candidates running within their own party. The American people are tired of this and want real change in the system of government. The question of course is, how do we get third party representation in national politics?

The argument that I have most compelling is that of implementing ranked choice voting. In our current system, each person gets only one vote, and because of this, as you mention, they are constrained by the two party system to vote either Democrat or Republican. In this system, a voter fears that if they vote for a third party, they will be wasting their vote, because third parties are unlikely to win.

In ranked choice voting, however, this dynamic is not present. This is because in ranked choice voting, a voter ranks all available candidates from favorite to least favorite. Then candidates who received the least amount of first choice votes transfer their votes to whoever voters ranked second. This prevents the spoiler effect, and would allow voters to vote more freely, and end the corrupt two party system once and for all.

-Drew
Haley Overlander says:

March 27, 2018 at 2:32 pm

James,

Thank you for your post. I agree that Americans are craving a new voice with new ideas, however, we must ask ourselves why it is that no one votes for the third party then? Is it because the ideas aren’t the ‘fresh’ ones that our society is reaching for, is it because the third party is not offering as strong of a platform to stand on, or is it because, historically speaking, the third party always loses?

Personally, I believe it is all three. However, I think that the mindset that the third party is doomed to be a ‘loser’ is one of the strongest factors. When we have a presupposed understanding that no matter if you vote for the third parry or not, they are bound to fail, then we are dissuading any voters from voting for a third party. It is a cyclical pattern.

When researching the topic of why people don’t vote third party, I found an interesting Odyssey article on why people should vote third party. Out of the five points made, three stood out to me. The first being “a vote for a candidate you believe in is never wasted,” the second, “[voting] third party [brings] down the power that Republicans and Democrats hold over everyone,” and lastly, “you are not wasting your vote” (Cross). What is important about the first point is that you have the right to vote, you have the privilege to vote, so why not take advantage of that and right and vote for someone who you believe will best support your interests and better your country? The second point brings about the importance of the fact that your vote does count. “The beauty of voting third party is that when more people do it, the party will win more and more of the popular vote” and with this, the Democrats and Republicans will lose some power in regards to their massive holds on the two-party system. Lastly, it is important to know that no vote is a ‘wasted’ vote. By immediately assuming a vote is wasted, before it is even cast, you are denying the opportunity for your vote, and your voice, to make a positive contribution to the political environment.

Though I do believe that it would be nice for a third party to actually stand against the Republican and Democratic parties, if at least, just to open up a new dialogue, I cannot say I see it happening any time soon. Although the points made in the article are inspiring, they are not necessarily accurate representations of how people will act when it comes down to casting a vote. Overall, I agree with your statement that the next election needs a fresh voice, but I do not think that we can ever remove our mindsets from the idea that third parties always lose.

– Haley

Citations:

Cross, Kasey. “5 Reasons Why Voting Third Party Is Not A Wasted Vote.” The Odyssey Online, 22 Mar. 2016.
Everett Harper says:

March 28, 2018 at 3:39 pm

James this is a very insightful post that draws on many American citizen’s thoughts and views. I completely agree with your post that Americans want and need a third party when voting in a presidential election. I believe that many voters are very stubborn with how they vote and like you said, many of them will refuse to vote for a third party candidate simply because they know that the candidate will not win. I think that this is a major problem in the US political system and hinders the idea of democracy because people are essentially supposed to vote either democrat or republican without the freedom to successfully vote for someone with a mix of both ideologies. I think that the problem with this is rooted in the corruption of both parties, and where neither of them are willing to implement any sort of major change because of the money that they are provided from organizations to push an agenda.

Yes, this is a major problem in the American political system, however, I do not believe that it will change anytime soon. There was a flash of possibility for third parties to win in the most recent 2016 election with Bernie Sanders. Although he did not win, a massive number of citizens rallied behind him in order to enact political change. But as always, the Democratic candidate and the Republican candidate both prevailed and the system continued under what it has always been. Fixing this problem is a huge task and would have to re-evaluate the whole US voting process. Although it would be great for our democracy, I do not see it happening anytime in the near future.
William Roberts says:

April 2, 2018 at 12:02 am

Hi James,

Your post offers some great insight into an American political phenomenon. And, I too have felt intrigued by the United States’ general reluctance toward a third party. Overall, you did a great job covering the obstacles third parties face while campaigning: historical dominance of the two-party system, election qualifications for parties and voter behavior. I agree with you that voters should invest more time considering alternative parties, however, I think we must first address why so many Americans are apathetic to the political processes in general. Of course, it’s worth mentioning that perhaps voter apathy is linked to the prevalence of the two-party system. Maybe more people would vote if they had more options. Or, maybe it will make them even more reluctant, as more parties requires more time weighing out the benefits and drawbacks of each party. Further, I think you are right in your examination of how third-parties influence policy proposals from Democrats and Republicans, and, therefore, elections. In my eyes, the stigma of issues having only two sides, conservative or liberal, intensifies partisanship and eliminates room for moderates to have a compelling stance. Essentially, we are asking third-party candidates to find a perfect in-between. Because most contemporary issues have great ultimatums for both sides, any third party advocating for more centrist governance must propose solutions that lessen the severity of the ultimatum on both sides. Overall, your post raises questions that deserve more attention, but I have a terribly hard time seeing the emergence of a third party capable of competing with the two parties anytime soon.

You mentioned that Americans are tired of the two parties, which is seemingly true. That being said, if a third party with a real chance of winning a presidential election emerged in 2020, would you vote for them for the sake of changing history, regardless of their stances?

Awesome post, James.

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