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The two party system, forced on us by plurality voting, is the reason people feel they don't have a choice. Pick one of two very different sides. If a third ca

The two party system, forced on us by plurality voting, is the reason people feel they don't have a choice. Pick one of two very different sides. If a third candidate tries to enter the race, they harm themselves and the person they are similar to, and they help the opposition. Any form of ranked voting will rid us of this restriction and allow more candidates to run for an office, and allow citizens to vote their true preference. Yesterday, HR 3040 was introduced by a GOP member from Arizona, which intends to ban ranked choice voting from federal elections. The GOP has already banned it in the state of Florida. A radical party is terrified of a system that enables more electoral competition and throttles radicalism.

School-Cotton 2y ago
No idea why you got downvoted. This is exactly the answer.
- unethical_ban 2y ago
  The only "non-objective" component of my comment is the analysis of the GOP's motives to stop voting reform.
taylodl 2y ago
What you're talking about is known as Duverger's Law - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duverger's_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duverger's_law
- unethical_ban 2y ago
  Yep! And the "spoiler effect" is when a voting system fails to meet the "independence of clones" criterion. In an election, the addition of a candidate similar to an existing candidate should not adversely impact both candidates.
nradov 2y ago
Right. The last serious third-party presidential candidate was Ross Perot in 1992. In terms of political platform and voter appeal he was slightly more similar to the incumbent Republican candidate George H. W. Bush, which probably enabled the Democrat candidate Bill Clinton to win (although it's impossible to know what would have happened if Perot didn't run). Some political analysts claim that Perot entered the race not really intending to win but rather as retribution against Bush. In 1979 the Iranian regime imprisoned two of Perot's EDS employees. Perot asked Bush, who was then Director of the CIA, to get them out. Bush refused to act and Perot held a grudge against him ever since.
- Ccecil 2y ago
  "In 1979 the Iranian regime imprisoned two of Perot's EDS employees. Perot asked Bush, who was then Director of the CIA, to get them out" Most interesting part of that story is that once the government failed to help he organized and trained his own operation and successfully extracted his employees. edit: https://www.rossperot.com/life-story/iran-hostage-rescue https://www.rossperot.com/life-story/iran-hostage-rescue

School-Cotton 2y ago

No idea why you got downvoted. This is exactly the answer.

unethical_ban 2y ago
The only "non-objective" component of my comment is the analysis of the GOP's motives to stop voting reform.

taylodl 2y ago

What you're talking about is known as Duverger's Law - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duverger's_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duverger's_law

unethical_ban 2y ago
Yep! And the "spoiler effect" is when a voting system fails to meet the "independence of clones" criterion. In an election, the addition of a candidate similar to an existing candidate should not adversely impact both candidates.

nradov 2y ago

Right. The last serious third-party presidential candidate was Ross Perot in 1992. In terms of political platform and voter appeal he was slightly more similar to the incumbent Republican candidate George H. W. Bush, which probably enabled the Democrat candidate Bill Clinton to win (although it's impossible to know what would have happened if Perot didn't run). Some political analysts claim that Perot entered the race not really intending to win but rather as retribution against Bush. In 1979 the Iranian regime imprisoned two of Perot's EDS employees. Perot asked Bush, who was then Director of the CIA, to get them out. Bush refused to act and Perot held a grudge against him ever since.

Ccecil 2y ago
"In 1979 the Iranian regime imprisoned two of Perot's EDS employees. Perot asked Bush, who was then Director of the CIA, to get them out" Most interesting part of that story is that once the government failed to help he organized and trained his own operation and successfully extracted his employees. edit: https://www.rossperot.com/life-story/iran-hostage-rescue https://www.rossperot.com/life-story/iran-hostage-rescue