Hillary Clinton
In reply to the discussion: Revolt Against Superdelegates (Hillary Clinton Group) [View all]wildeyed
(11,243 posts)in who they nominate. People need to understand the rules of the game if they want to play. A bunch of the upset I hear is just sour grapes from people who are losing at a facet of the game.
But that said, I believe that the two main parties have made it waaaaay too difficult for third parties to compete. The lack of choice and the overwhelming power these two entities have on BOTH sides is part of the frustration that people are expressing right now. And the parties need to understand that, for the good of the country, we need to open up the process a bit.
I will take this moment for a public service announcement:
Instant-Runoff Voting or IRV will allow third party candidates to run without being a spoiler.
IRV is a preferential voting system in which voters rank the candidates in order of preference rather than voting for a single candidate.
You fill out your ballot, with the candidates in the order of your preference. Initially, the first choices are tallied. If no single candidate gets 51%, then the last finishing candidate is kicked out, and those voters 2nd choice is added in. This continues until on candidate achieves 51% or more of the popular vote.
That way, people can vote for a third party candidate without the fear of spoiling the election for the next best choice. People who have divergent political views that are not represented by one of the two parties can have a say.
I believe this would address the problem without the catastrophic upheaval that seems bound to happen if we don't make some voluntary changes soon.