Good Reasons to Support Third Party Candidates This November

[wlotus]

1. According to the FEC, once a third party candidate receives at least 5% of the total popular vote, their party is considered a "minor party" and is eligible for partial public funding. That allows them to spend more money on advertising to get their message out, rather than spending most of it on canvassing for the signatures necessary just to get on the state ballots.

2. A candidate must have 15 percent of the popular support according to polls in order to be included in the presidential debates. Voting for these candidates gives them a chance to get their message out to the general public in debates the same as the major party candidates.

Interview with J. David Gillespie, professor of political science at Presbyterian College
30 August 2004

QUESTION: What about the ability of third party candidates to present their principles, their ideas, to the general public?

MR. GILLESPIE: Well, debate access is another constraint. You know, we've very rarely had a thirdparty candidate on the debate stage with major party candidates. Ross Perot and John Anderson are the only ones that have ever been on a presidential debate stage because, generally, it takes 15 percent of popular support as registered in the various polls to qualify for being part of the presidential debates. Since a candidate cannot gain popular support if he cannot get his views heard, this is a classic example of "themthathave is themthatgets."

3. Supporting third party candidates forces the major parties to consider adopting the ideas and principles of the third party candidates, in order to gain votes.

Third parties can draw attention to issues that may be ignored by the majority parties. If the issue finds resonance with the voters, one or more of the major parties may adopt the issue into its own party platform. Also, a third party may be used by the voter to cast a protest vote as a form of referendum on an important issue.^* [Wikipedia: "Third Party (United States)"]

^*Many members of the Just Say No Deal coalition are voting third party in November for this reason.

Comments

[faerie-spark.livejournal.com]

Hmm, this is interesting. I've usually thought of a third-party vote as a wasted vote, but it might very well not be. And, at least for this election, this liberal, hockey-Mom-fearing girl (who can't even vote) would rather see those unhappy with the Democrats voting third-party.

(For what it's worth, I don't hate hockey Moms. I think they work very hard and are very unappreciated. I just think that the one w who appears as a VP candidate is grossly unqualified for *that* job.

[wlotus.livejournal.com]

I used to think a third-party vote was a wasted (or traitorous) vote, too. A lot of people still have that misconception. The events of this election year have (rather rudely) shaken me out of that misconception. Now I realize a third-party vote can help bring about real, positive change in the political landscape, change that is long overdue.

[ciardhapagan.livejournal.com]

Exactly, the more votes a third party gets the more the major parties have to take their goals seriously, and after the gross misogyny Obama, the DNC, the fauzgressive bloggers, and the media (left, right and center) showed this campaign season feminists need to send a message loud and clear that if you act like an MRA you won't get our votes- we have to take back our power and the best way to do that is vote Green party, who not only explicitly back all women's rights, but have both a woman running both for President and Vice President. To vote Democratic means you accept being abused and will allow it and worse in the future. I will not. I will never forget or forgive what happened in the 2007-8 primary. Heck yeah "I am woman, hear me roar!"

[wlotus.livejournal.com]

I'm roaring right along with you. That's why I changed my voter's registration to "no party".

This morning I was talking to a friend on the train, and I explained how the Democratic and Republican parties have become two sides of the same coin. Other than some minor differences in where taxes would be raised (corporations vs. middle class) and in abortion rights, the two parties are becoming near-mirror images of each other. The way things stand right now, real change can only come from outside of those two parties. As the number of independent voters and third party voters increases, the chances of real change also increases.