this post was submitted on 16 Oct 2024
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United States | News & Politics

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Power to the people! (lemmy.ml)
submitted 1 month ago by Confidant6198@lemmy.ml to c/usa@lemmy.ml
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[–] PapaStevesy@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago

One major problem I never hear anyone talk about is that each of the people who want to vote third-party want to do so for very different reasons, often at political extremes. Which is why there's no "third party" but a bunch of very different tiny parties with very different goals and no electoral pull. So even if you convince every undecided/independent/major party hater voter in the country to vote third party, their votes will never coelesce under any one party enough to make any difference. Of course it all leads back to winner-take-all and first-past-the-post, which are the real enemies of truly representative democracy.

[–] superb@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The vote is only three weeks away, what is the plan for changing everyone else’s mind in time?

[–] Ashelyn@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 month ago

Early voting is an option in many places too!

Voting early is usually less stressful, and you can schedule it easier (because election day isn't a national holiday for some reason). Look up the dates early voting is running in your county, read up on what polling stations you can vote early at, and make a plan!

As far as changing minds though... yeah, everyone is pretty much locked in at this point. I just hope people in the US cast a ballot even if they don't plan on voting for the president. There are so many downballot positions for local offices that one's vote can have a huge impact on.

I think if people are resigned to not pick between outright vs lite genocide (understandably), the best thing they can do is research their local elections, make a list on who they plan on choosing for each office, and make the decision on the president (including the choice to do a write-in or leave it blank) when they get to the ballot box.

[–] itsonlygeorge@reddthat.com 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Third-party candidates would have a shot if there wasn’t an electoral college and if we had ranked choice voting.

As the system is designed right now, anything that’s not one of the two mainstream parties is a spoiler vote.

In addition, campaign finance laws are so broken any third party candidates cannot compete on a financial level. They simply don’t have enough money to market, advertise, travel, and campaign.

Add to that that most voters don’t understand how government works and are only concerned about one maybe two policy issues. They only vote for the candidate that mentions the one issue they care about. For Republicans, that’s typically gun laws, immigration, and lower taxes. For Democrats, that’s typically medical reform, education, and abortion rights.

Most voters in the last 20 to 30 years, honestly don’t give a shit about policy issues or campaign promises because the politicians have consistently proved that they’re lying. They politicians only listen to lobbyist and corporate interests which pay for their reelection campaigns.

This is why Republicans have been so successful in the last several election cycles without any meaningful platform or policies. They run on gut feeling, cult of personality, and meaningless single voter issues that they know they will never truely change because the lobbyists and incorporate interests will never allow it.

[–] _core@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Third party candidates are rarely voted into office and certainly not at the presidential level. The Rs and D's have made it so 3rd party candidates are essentially non-viable outside small population areas. The voting system itself needs to change to something like ranked choice for a 3rd party to have a chance.

[–] Confidant6198@lemmy.ml -3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The parties have been sabotaging any means of the voting system to change. So you are saying that something that is up to the parties need to change which they will not allow to change, such that you can vote third party. That to me just sounds like an excuse to not vote third party, like when people say that they will only do something when an event that they know won't happen occurs such that they can have no accountability.

[–] MrPhibb@reddthat.com 2 points 1 month ago

This sabotage is why I keep saying that third parties need to be realistic and stop focusing on the Presidency, instead focus on the jobs that make the laws, the ones that can remove the barriers for third parties while demonstrating why they're the better party.

[–] TheFinn@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 1 month ago

Don't be an idiot

[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago

The last time a 3rd party had a chance was Ross Perot, he did not win a single state.