Vote for 3rd Party?

Question

People see voting for a third party as "throwing their vote away" because our two party system is so rooted in our beliefs. But honestly, don't you think it's time we get another party in this mix? Things in this world aren't purely black and white, there is a ton of gray area. Lets dillute that ellection pool so things can change. Who wants to vote democrat, or republican anymore? They are both corrupt, and strictly out for power. Each represented party is backed by multiple big business influences. Why not throw in a third of forth idea in the mix? Why do we have to choose between theRepublican identity and "Stay the Course, no matter what!" or Democratic philosophy "Blame the Conservatives!"? My question is "Why don't more people vote independent? Might not believe in the indepedent party message, but atleast to get them recognition on the scene"

Answer 1

Wouldn't it be great if that were the case? Four or five equally funded parties? That's the problem, of course. We don't hear as much from Independents because the war chests of the Dems and Reps are hard to fight.

Answer 2

Good question. Nice to see some USofAmericans ponder why there government is considered a democracy when you only essentially have two options to choose from.

I'm not saying that the Parliamentary system like we have here in Canada is the end all and be all, but I kinda like voting for a party to get into power and not just voting for a single person. And the whole having more options than a simple flip of a coin - yeah that's nice too. Decision and law making in the Canadian (and British, and Australian, etc.) system seems to be more even handed. And although there are loads of tricks a Prime Minister can do to either stifle or pass a bill, it doesn't really compare to what a President can do (e.g. a 'pocket veto' can be pretty hefty). And don't even get me started on the insanity that is the electoral college!

I'd like to think that if I lived in the States and could vote, I'd vote independent (Nader had some good ideas behind him) but I think that (especially in the last election) many who voted democrat did so out of 'self defense' against Bush. They figured that Kerry was the lesser of two evils and deep down, no 3rd party candidate would ever garner enough support so instead of throwing a vote away, they gave it to the democrats.

Answer 3

Voting no longer carries any weight, at least at the federal level. The fed govt was supposed to represent the state's will....HA HA HA. The states are to control the federal govt, not the other way around. By voting at all you are accepting the rules set forth by an elitist regime, not by the people. A third party that represents the people has no chance to succeed. For that would take away the power and that will not happen until we revolt. I would love to see a libertarian or independent get some main stream footing as they would most likely get my vote. But once again, this will not happen. They (Fed Govt) have us arguing amongst ourselves instead of focusing on the important issues. They have successfully divided the nation emotionally, so the battles are very heated, which allows them to continue screwing the common man with out any (much) objection. Let me know when you find the party/candidate you speak of.

Answer 4

I've voted 3rd party for 30 years. Most people in the US vote for the most likely candidate that will keep their least favored candidate from office. Also, the two parties control the election process and force the third parties to spend most of their finances on ballot access. If a third party candidate somehow wins office, the two major parties will collude to change the election rules for the next election to remove them. ( I have seen this work in a Houston school board election when Libertarians were starting to gain power in a non -party affiliated election. The major parties changed the election rules so that state elegibility rules applied and low percentage candidates had to petition to get on the ballot each time. Mission accomplished! The Libertarian incumbents couldn't run again. Guess who checks the petitions.)

Answer 5

The problem is that a lot of people THINK about voting for someone different, but no one does anything. Especially my generation (i'm 23), we all want change but no one is willing to do anything about it. Most people my age spend all year complaning about our government and laws but when election time comes only a few percentage of us actually go out and vote (case in point....our current president is STILL our current president). Some because they feel that they are indeed "throwing their votes away" and others because they don't feel like it would matter anyway. Then, the people who actually do go out and vote, don't know what they're voting for! For example, this past presidential election I was talking with a group of people at work about who we voted for and why. One of the girls said she voted for Bush and when we asked her why, she said because her friend told her to!!!! She didn't know anything about any of the issues!! We started to tell her some of his (and other candidates, to be fair) opinions on issues like foreign policy, abortion, drugs...she then regretted her decision and said next time she votes she'll make sure she knows what she's voting for first....how many other people make the same sort of mistakes?!?! Maybe we should require that people take some sort of test that shows that they actually know what the issues are and that they actually have a working brain. So, "why don't more people vote independent?" because there aren't enough people that know how to think for themselves that actually go out and vote, and the ones that DO, know that it wouldn't make a difference anyway...our current "system" wouldn't allow it

Answer 6

Under the current implementation of the electoral college, and under the congressional distrincting system we have, it is literally throwing away the vote. The vote is never counted.

To solve this problem, we need to fix the system. Eliminate congressional districts and go with a proportional/cumulative voting model for electing representatives. And change the electoral college to be proportional (pro-rata) per state, rather than all-or-nothing.

Answer 7

convinced and that i'm doing so proudly for Barr. I want someone who honestly follows the structure, that is why I also like 1st earl baldwin of bewdley. As Einstein suggested the definition of insanity is to doing something repeatedly, even as anticipating a diverse outcome. in case you shop vote casting for a Repubicrat and assume the country to modify, it truly is what you're doing. I have heard the reaction that if i'm vote casting for third social gathering applicants repeatedly and continuously dropping, follows that theory also. the version is i'd be vote casting for them, besides the undeniable fact that that's with the wish they win, i do not assume it.