THIRD PARTIES AND INDEPENDENTS Flashcards
is there a strong third party in the us
no
Example of 2 established “third parties”
Greens
Libertarians
in the 117th congress how many independents are there
house - 0
Senate - 2 but both align with democrat
Who was the last third candidate to get a lot of votes in a presidential election
Ross perot in 1992 won 19% of the vote
Who was the last third candidate to get any ECV’s
Wallace in 1968 won 46 votes
who was the third party in 2020 election
Libertarian
why do third parties do bad in terms off electoral system
third parties aren’t favoured in fptp
Wallace won 46 votes by focusing on smaller states
why do third parties do bad in terms off ballot access laws
can be hard to get on the ballot in some states
greens failed to get on the ballot in 30 states in 2020
why do third parties do bad in terms off media
news programmes don’t cover them and can’t afford tv ads
Only the 2 front runners in 2016 got on the tv debates
why do third parties do bad in terms off candidates
candidates would rather try on a larger party as they have larger chance
Independents like sanders and trump went major 2
why do third parties do bad in terms off co-operation
Major 2 parties will nick policies that allow third to do well
Ross perot’s balancing the budget was gone as balance in surplus from 2000
Can third parties effect electoral outcomes
unlikely but can happen
Without Nadar in florida, gore would of had enough votes to win florida and the election
Arguments that third parties are significant
influence outcome - nadar in florida
congressional outcomes directly affected - 2018 maine district 2 where the republican candidate won majority on first votes but lost seat over second votes
co-operation of policy - perot
Arguments that third parties aren’t significant
Most presidential elections they don’t matter
maine only state not using FPTP for congressional elections so people don’t vote third parties
lack a high media profile so less influence
