The problem there isn’t that we (assuming the US) don’t want third parties, it’s that our voting system encourages party consolidation rather than cooperation. That only gets more true the higher in the government you go.

[–] CosmicCleric@lemmy.world 0 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

The problem there isn’t that we (assuming the US) don’t want third parties,

That's not true. People don't vote for third party because of the self-fulfilling prophecy, but it doesn't mean they don't want it. They also want ranked-choice voting.

I would advocate to put that self-fulfilling prophecy to the test, even if just as an experiment one time.

[–] Zink@programming.dev 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I think you’re agreeing with me there. People want other choices, but they get ignored because they have no chance of winning.

It would be great if we couple coordinate and just try it one year, but change needs to be able to happen gradually too. Our system in practice actively punishes third party voting by your vote benefiting the major party you DON’T want.

I bet people would want ranked choice or similar if given the option. I think the establishment really doesn’t like that idea and actively works against it, though.

[–] CosmicCleric@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

I think you’re agreeing with me there

Fair enough, yep, sorry for the confusion.

I just wanted to be explicit and generally push back against the notion that Americans don't want other choices to vote for, especially in this election cycle.