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May 2012 Moms
MelissaMiso
member
hot topic #7
MelissaMiso
member
Before we are completely tired of hearing campaign ads touting bologna that the politicians will never follow up on, let's talk politics:
Would you ever vote for a third party in any presidential election? Why or why not?
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Re: hot topic #7
wink
This. I feel like if I vote for someone who is obviously not going to win, then I might as well just throw my vote away. Because honestly at that point my vote doesn't count.
Whether we like it or not, our form of government is set up to have a two-party system because we have first past the post, winner-take-all elections. Meaning that here, whoever gets the most votes wins and takes the seat, even if they only got 45% of the vote.
Countries like Germany and France have systems that favor a multi-party system because they have proportional representation. Instead of having hundreds of geographic districts that each send one person to Parliament (like our House of Representatives does) they have much larger districts that send a bunch of representatives to Parliament. So if a district has 10 seats in parliament and 40% of people in that district vote for the Liberal Party, 30% of people vote for the Conservative Party, and 30% of people vote for the Green party, then the district will send 4 Liberal Party members, 3 Conservative Party members, and 3 Green Party members to parliament.
That's oversimplified, but basically how it works. In the U.S., when a third party forms, it's usually over a specific issue, and if that third party's following is strong enough, either the Republicans or Democrats will want to absorb that party's platform into their own to get their votes.
In a multi-party system, once they've been elected, it's beneficial for the different parties to form coalitions over issues. IMHO having a system that encourages coalitions helps avoid the issue we have in the U.S. where it's like every issue must be black and white with no middle ground.
But to answer the question you actually asked
no, I've never voted for a third party. But I live in the Midwest and third parties aren't very strong here. If I lived somewhere where third parties could successfully get elected in Congress or at the state level, I'd consider it.
BFP#1 EDD 11/8/11 - MC @ 9w6d, 4/15/11 we said goodbye
BFP#2 DD arrived 5/7/12
I always wonder that, if all people who wanted to vote for a third party actually did, if they would start changing the system. I dislike feeling like I'm always picking the lesser of two evils.
How old are you? If you're 18 or over being young is no excuse to not have a basic understanding of politics, or not taking advantage of your right to vote.
The internet is a great resource. For heavens sake, educate yourself! As a woman and as a mother, you need to be aware that there is a lot at stake this election year!!
No i understand the basics i just dont have much time... maybe i should though!