Welcome, to the first-ever post on my civic issues blog. The main focus of this blog will be the American election system and the many kinks which need to be worked out. For today’s topic, we will look at the two-party system in America and how voters turn a blind eye to third-party candidates.
American voters typically identify themselves as either a Republican or a Democrat, the two dominant political parties in America. However, these are not the only parties which voters can support during election cycles, there are various independant candidates and third-parties with beliefs which have beliefs that pick from both democrats and republicans.
The libertarian party supports free choice for citizens in just about every facet of life so long as you aren’t hurting others. A tagline which became associated with the party and represents their do as you please attitude was “I want gay married couples to protect their marijuana plants with guns”.
The green party is focused on ecological policies and protecting the environment. Their website states that the four pillars of the party are: “Peace and Non-Violence, Ecological Wisdom, Grassroots Democracy, and Social Justice”.
There are many other independant candidates which run every year for office and other political parties and ideologies which may suit voters’ needs. However, many protest that a vote for a third party is “throwing away your vote”, this is simply untrue. Throwing away your vote is typically what many undecided voters do every year, voting for the lesser of two evils between the republican and democratic candidates, rather than picking someone which actually represents their values. This binary system also causes voters to support and identify with policy which they don’t agree with, just becasue their party or candidate supports it (look how Trump drastically changed the views of the republican party after first being an outcast).
A vote for a third party candidate can also go a long way for the future, because if a third party recieves at least five percent of the vote, the party will recieve public funds for the next election. Millions of dollars can be directed towards new candidates and ideas, leading to more publicity and accessability for the next election cycle.
Whoever you vote for, you should make your vote count. If a democrat or republican catches your eye, vote for them. However, if neither candidate interests you, a vote for a third party might be a good idea.
As someone who has never felt strongly placed in either of the main two political parties, this was interesting to read. Like you mentioned, sometimes not voting for either one of the big ones can feel like a waste of a vote, but I didn’t know that if a third party receives at least five percent of the vote, that they get funding for the next election. I think it is important that people talk about these third parties, because often people have many views that don’t fall directly into one of the two main parties. I am really interested in your topic and look forward to more posts in the future.
The dilemma of voting for a third party candidate reminds me of the prisoner’s dillema where people can’t communicate but can help each other or not. Because people don’t believe a third party candidate can win, they don’t vote for them. I think the only way to change that is by having strong third party candidates run who are already famous (for example Bernie Sanders or Kyrsten Sinema) and possibly that will change the dynamic.
In highschool, I learned about the unseen third party, and I agree. Sometimes in politics, I feel as if both sides is right in some way but wrong in another. I really do think implementing a 3rd party into elections would be extremely beneficial, and action should be taken to ensure this. I like this blog because it is making people more aware of the fact they do not need to vote for the main two parties if they do not agree with them. After all, there are other parties out there. Good job!
I never even thought about voting for a third party because I honestly never looked into their stances. I always believed that only Democrat or Republican were the only choices I could make. I did not know that third parties are able to get funds either. Maybe in the future, I will vote for a third party because there is just too much division with the partisanship right now. I am excited to read your next blog posts!
While I agree that the two-party system is nowhere near ideal, I do not think that other parties currently hold enough influence to significantly affect elections. While I understand Democrats have to cater to the Green Party and Republicans to Libertarians (generally), these parties still don’t have enough power to significantly affect who runs and what they support, and the American people are left in the middle.