The Influence Of Third Parties

This puts more control in the hands of the primary voters instead of the general election voters. The result is that the extreme candidates in each party primary gets elected and then easily cruises to victory in the general

Our political system is comprised of a two party system that has existed since our country's inception. While the Democrats and Republicans are the dominant parties, there are third-parties such as the Libertarians, the Tea Party, the Green Party and many others. While they are small and a third party candidate has never won a presidential election, they can have a significant effect on the outcome. Such examples include the Elections of 1912 and 1992, two years in which the election was changed by the actions of a third party candidate. This also applies to our current presidential election in which one of the Republican frontrunners, Donald Trump, has vowed to run as a third party candidate if he feels mistreated.

Giving back the power of the people will solve many debating issues in the election system. Take away the majority and give back the power to the individual

The scope of the effect that a third party has in the United States is extremely limited. Not only do candidates from the Tea Party need to outcompete opposing members from the Democratic Party, but they also have to compete with members of the Republican Party, a party with which it shares very similar ideology. In order for third parties to successfully enact their agenda, minor parties like the Tea Party either have to influence the elections of major party candidates that they support, or prevent the elections of candidates they oppose. It is clearly possible for members of the Tea Party faction to reach positions of power. Several candidates have been elected to the U.S. Congress.

The Electoral College has been a confusing subject and is now rising up some serious questions. Does your vote really count? What is a faithless elector? How are they chosen? What is a direct democracy?

The effectiveness of third party candidate’s campaign can range from a creating a platform for a political statement, or make a major impact in the polls. Strong third party candidates casue presidential elections to “lead to substantially different outcomes” (Abramson 351). Third party candidates play a major role in the presidential elections by taking away votes from major party candidates. In addition, their campaign helps to further their own political standing throughout the entire country to build a platform for other future candidates in their party.

The National Archives states that the electoral college doesn’t fare well for third parties. They emphasise this through Theodore Roosevelt's Progressive Party of 1912 and several important third parties, such as the Libertarian Party, hosted by Gary Johnson, and the Reform Party, hosted by the influential Ross Perot. Another good example of a third party that also coincides with the knowledge we have gained of late is the Socialist Party, with Eugene V. Debs as the host. Third parties do poorly due to the state's power of deciding how electors vote, as well as other parties' assimilating the third wheel’s ideals. The electoral college promotes a two-party system by giving larger recognition to more prominent parties.

However, when it came to the electoral vote, Clinton won 69% and Bush won 31% while Perot got 0% (Doc B). Candidates in third parties rarely ever win to become president and sometimes even get no electoral votes at all. Many of these smaller parties are often overshadowed by the bigger main two, Democrats and Republicans, leaving no room for other independent ideas or opinions. As Geroge Will states, “The system bolsters the two party-system by discouraging independent candidacies…” (Doc E).

Some obstacles that third parties face include voters believing that their vote for a third party candidate is a waste, since that candidate is unlikely to win. Also, third parties usually focus on a single personality or a single issue and that can lead to less popularity among voters. However, the most significant obstacle a third party faces is the winner-take-all system, where in the majority of states, the presidential candidate gets all the state’s electoral votes with the highest percentage of votes. This basically takes all the chances of a third party wining a presidential election.

Even though, today, many disagree and feel the Electoral College only make things complicated and that it has outlived its usefulness. Nonetheless, those that are against the Electoral College will have a hard time trying to change it because this is written in the Constitution. The Electoral College simply made the process of electing a president and vice president much easier although it has loop holes. The loop hole being that in the future we may be faced in a situation where the president and the vice president can be from two different political parties and forced to work together. The Electoral College consists of the votes citizens make.

This pattern however, works to discourage minor and non-major parties. Republicans and Democrats usually find common ground and work together, also known as bipartisan. It seems that the electoral process shape election laws to preserve, protect, and defend the two-party system; furthermore, not giving the minor party a fair

Dissolving the electoral college and instituting a voting system where every citizen’s vote count, could allow for third party members to finally have a strong chance of being a primary candidate for election. This may allow America’s voice to be heard better if everyone had a say in the election. For the most part, Americans have only two choices the primary, Democrat and the Primary Republican, but without the electoral college a lesser candidate that might not be backed with a substantial amount of monetary wealth could win. Finally, a state may be Republican or Democratic, but there are still citizens voting against the majority in the state. Those citizens don’t have say as of right now, but if the electoral college was done away with

It allows them to use tactics such as packing and cracking which can have a tremendous impact on elections. Packing is when politicians draw out district maps for each party based on population. Packing can swing the vote because the population of one party could out weight the population of the minority party within the same district, causing the entire district to swing with the majority. Voters feel that the other tactic, cracking, gives them a disadvantage because the political parties are being spread out between multiple districts which causes one district to have the majority party in multiple areas (King, Elizabeth). When the politicians of the party in power have drawn out the voters’ map, they maintain power over the lines of the map.

Political parties serve countless roles in America’s government. Foremost, it needs to be said they are crucial to America’s political system. The political parties are the heart and brain of our government's body, urging people to conceive and feel different ways on different topics whether the controversy is over how money is distributed or the way immigrants should be treated or dealt with. With each party having a biased view it shows how a group can be increasingly powerful with bountiful amounts of support, names and divisions can be heard. Democrats are widely known to be liberal rather than conservative.

Political parties are politically recognized organizations of citizens who form to defend their interests. Having a political system that allows the freedom to form a new political parties or to declare membership in already existing ones, promotes democracy. As such, political parties are an indispensable part of the democratic process. However, there are also negative consequences to having political parties. Political parties saw their origins in the 17th and 18th centuries in the UK, evolving from previous political organizations called factions.