Question:
Do you think the two-party system in America will ever change?
1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Do you think the two-party system in America will ever change?
Ten answers:
BruceN
2010-02-26 07:09:45 UTC
No. The US system was modeled on Fredrick the Great's and is specifically designed for two parties.



The fact that we don't have a prime minister, elected by Congress, but a President who must win by a majority of the electors is the key. In a parliamentary system, minor parties can gain influence by entering into coalitions with other minor parties to overcome a large party. They tend to enforce discipline by expelling people who don't hold to the party line. But ours requires a majority (and almost a 2/3 majority to stop filibusters), so there is no room for minor parties. The major parties are competing for that 50 - 66% of the Congress and a President to match. They can't afford to expel anyone, but co-opt everyone, even extremists, and try to prevent splits.



Third parties never poll more than 10% of the vote, since it is a wasted vote and a split in the party would insure the other major party will win. Our parties are also fund-raising machines that no interloper can replace. So no third party will ever form unless it can replace one of the other two in a single election. Lincoln was the only one to ever do that and it started a civil war.
RockIt
2010-02-26 07:04:20 UTC
It seems inevitable that the extreme left, 20% and right, 20% will be marginalized by a centrist party for 60% of the rest of us called the independent party, but its been a long time coming while people keep hoping the dems and reps serve the people and not their own dramas.
*Sumzilla*
2010-02-26 07:22:49 UTC
We as Americans are never stuck with anything. We make our own personal decisions and choices, if we chose as a whole nation to vote thrid party it would happen. Obviously we dont, it also doesnt help that most third party candidates dont have a strong enough platform to appeal to the majority of voters, and the few who do are not able to get the word out or collapse or withdraw from the pressure. If America wants more than a two party system then its up to her citizens to change that.



At least we dont have France's mess of a government and their five hundred parties.
2010-02-26 07:07:19 UTC
Hey did you know that the Republicans paid for Ralph Nader's campaign thr last 3 election years? Also, that Sarah Palin is the Dem's best friend right about now?
One Man Wolfpack
2010-02-26 07:10:55 UTC
The way our system of government works, a two party system is unfortunately the most practical. I am hoping, however, that the people will wake up and force these parties to make changes withing
healthyguy63
2010-03-01 15:32:36 UTC
The short answer to your question is: So long as no major changes are made to the structure of our government and the voting method which we use to select winners for seats, no, it will not change.



Consider Duverger's Law. The U.S. government's organization and method of choosing candidates to fill seats greatly discourages the co-existence of more than two major parties, as any similar government organization is inclined to do. The U.S. government has single member districts or seats rather than proportionally represented multiple-member seats, and these seats are filled using the "vote-for-only-one-candidate" plurality voting method. Any government that possesses these two traits is very likely to be comprised of only two major parties. This behavior of governments was originally studied by a French sociologist named Maurice Duverger and is consequently named Duverger's Law.



From Wikipedia site:

"A two-party system often develops from the single-member district plurality voting system (SMDP). In an SMDP system, voters have a single vote which they can cast for a single candidate in their district, in which only one legislative seat is available. The winner of the seat is determined by the candidate with the most votes. This means that the SMDP system has several qualities that can serve to discourage the development of third parties and reward the two major parties."



If Duverger's Law is indeed correct, then other hurdles typically blamed for stalling third parties such as financing limitations, corporate influence, electoral college method of electing a president, voter apathy or ignorance, poor media coverage, ballot access laws, etc, are not primarily responsible for locking the U.S. electorate into two-party dominance.



The way I envision it, the single member district plurality voting system in the U.S. erects an essentially impenetrable wall for third parties. On the other hand, third party burdens (eg. ballot access laws) are only hurdles that could be overcome with some effort once the wall has been removed. We need to get rid of the wall first, then attempt to remove unfair burdens like ballot access petition requirements.



In my opinion, the simplest and most effective first step of knocking down this wall would be to replace the worst of all voting methods, plurality voting, with something much better like range voting, approval voting or perhaps a Condorcet method. These voting methods give each voter the opportunity to cast a ballot for multiple candidates.



The very constraining rule that holds voters to only one candidate encourages vote-splitting and "spoiled elections" and therefore unfairly and unnecessarily discourages a voter from supporting a favorite third party candidate. In essence, this "vote-for-only-one-candidate" rule is a major component of the impenetrable wall for third parties.



In the event that this simple voting rule change is not adequate to bring about a multiple-party government (creating proportionally represented multiple-member districts also may be necessary), at least it is a step in the right direction, and many other benefits would be realized by using a much better voting method than plurality.
2010-02-26 07:13:19 UTC
Yes
2010-02-26 09:25:59 UTC
You seem to have hit the nail on the head.
2010-02-26 07:03:10 UTC
yes, a thrid party will rise in the next few years.
2010-02-26 07:06:04 UTC
Yes but it will require som real effort by the people to get around the sheep>~



VOTE AGAINST ALL INCUMBENTS!!!


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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