Elise Labott on How Third Parties Can Revitalize Democracy

Third parties, or as I like to call then, alternative parties, are once again in the news here in the U.S. as we approach the November 5 presidential election.

Elise Labott is the editor-in-chief of Zivvy News and an adjunct professor at American University. Last September she was one of three political commentators asked by DividedWeFall.org to respond to the question, “Do third parties help or harm democracy?” Following are excerpts from Labott’s response.

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Today’s hyper-partisanship and polarization hinder the two major political parties from nominating presidential candidates who can resonate with a wide spectrum of voters. This problem has deep-seated roots, entwined with the business of politics, which benefits from normalizing the extreme.

As a result, many voters have recently found themselves compelled to choose the “lesser of two evils” or resort to protest votes. Recent polling data from NewsNation underscores this frustration, with about 49 percent of American voters willing to consider a third-party alternative [to] both Trump and Biden.

. . . Some analysts predict a third-party candidate could draw more support from Biden’s voters than Trump’s, causing concern among Democrats. . . . Yet this argument overlooks a deeper, longer-term problem at hand: the stranglehold of the two-party system and the corrosive influence of big money in American politics. Consistently voting for the “lesser of two evils” perpetuates a system that limits voters’ personal choices and stifles innovative leadership. A vote for a third-party candidate is not just about one election; it’s about challenging the barriers that uphold the two-party duopoly.

Moreover, the fear of a third-party candidate tipping the scales in favor of either party is based on a flawed assumption – that all potential third-party voters would otherwise vote for a major party candidate. Many may abstain from voting for the presidential candidate or skip the election altogether. Allowing support for third-party candidates could invigorate democracy by incentivizing voter turnout.

A third-party candidate doesn’t have to win the presidency to have a meaningful impact. Their mere presence in the race can reshape the conversation, push major parties to evolve, and inspire a new generation of elected leaders who understand democracy centers on “We the People” rather than “We the Parties.” In this context, concerns about which party might be “hurt” by third-party candidates earning votes are less important than the broader goal of revitalizing democracy and addressing citizens’ needs.

. . . [A] third-party ticket would remind politicians they serve the people, not the other way around. It’s time to reject the false narrative that voting for a third-party candidate is a wasted vote and instead recognize it as a powerful statement in favor of an issue-focused, united America.

– Elise Labott
Excerpted from “Do Third Parties Help
or Harm Democracy?”
DividedWeFall.com
September 27, 2023

Related Off-site Links:
Why U.S. Elections Only Give You Two Choices – Vox (March 6, 2024).
It’s Time to Build a Third Party – Anthony Pahnke (The Progressive, April 15, 2021).
U.S. Third Parties Can Rein In the Extremism of the Two-party System – Bernard Tamas (The Conversation, June 22, 2021).
The Problem with “The Lesser of Two Evils” – Zachary Ludwick (The Uproar, November 2, 2020).
Challenging the Duopoly: Jill Stein on Why She’s Running for U.S. President as Green Party Candidate – Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson (Geopolitical Economy Report, April 20, 2024).
Democrats Are Still Obsessed With Jill Stein. They Should Start Obsessing Over Non-voters Instead – Meagan Day (The Week, June 19, 2017).
Ralph Nader: The U.S. Political and Media System Is Designed to Obstruct and Silence Third-Party Candidates – Democracy Now! (May 10, 2016).
No, Ralph Nader Did Not Hand the 2000 Presidential Election to George W. Bush – Anthony Fisker (Reason, August 3, 2016).
Did Third-Party Candidates Cost Hillary Clinton the Election? – Byron Tau (The Wall Street Journal, November 14, 2016).
Can They Count? – Blaming Third-Party Voters for Trump’s Win Isn’t Just Bad Politics. It’s Bad Math – Jonah Walters (Jacobin, November 29, 2016).

UPDATES: Muslim Voters Evenly Split Between Jill Stein and Kamala Harris, New Poll Finds – Umar A Farooq (Middle East Eye, August 29, 2024).
Call the Greens an “Independent Party,” Not “Third Party”: Jill Stein – Rich Johnson (NewsNation, August 31, 2024).
Interview: Dr. Jill Stein on AOC’s Instagram Attack, Green Party Challenges and Victories, and More – Glenn Greenwald (System Update with Glenn Greenwald, September 10, 2024).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• “Americans Deserve Choices”: Jill Stein on Breaking Points – 4/30/24
• Something to Think About – August 15, 2024
• Voices on the Issues That Really Matter
• Progressive Perspectives On an American Coronation
• Thoughts on Cornel West’s 2024 Presidential Run
• The Big Switch
• The Republican Party in a Nutshell
• Republicans Don’t Care About American Democracy
• Demolishing the False Narrative About Jill Stein and the 2016 Election
• Centrist/Corporatist Democrats Have Just Launched “Left Punching” Season
• Will Democrats Never Learn?
• Celebrating Progressive Wins in the Midst of the Ongoing “War for the Future of the Democratic Party”
• Ricardo Levins Morales on the “Deepest Political Fault Line” Separating Democrats
• Marianne Williamson on the Movement for a People’s Party
• Progressive Perspectives on the Crisis in U.S. Electoral Politics
• Progressive Perspectives on the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election
• Hope Over Fear: Voting Green