Your Guide to the Sorry State of Third Party Candidates
Back in 2013, 60% of voters expressed the need for third-party candidates. And now with the candidates down to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, more and more voters are expressing the need to dismantle the two-party system. But it’s a lot easier said than done.
First of all, the Democratic and Republican parties are the only two parties that will show up on the ballot in all 50 states. Even the Libertarian party will only be on the ballot in 33 states; and the poor Green Party will only be on the ballot in 21 states. Each state has its own guidelines for determining if a party is eligible for ballot access. So this is how we end up with dozens of third-party candidates that only show up on the presidential ballot in one state (usually the respective party’s home state). That’s also how we end up with candidates like Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump who try to push the two mainstream parties ever so slightly farther to the right or left. The system is set up so it’s nearly impossible for a third-party to win a presidential election. No wonder why people feel like they don’t have a representative voice in politics anymore.
So if you’re lucky enough to live in a certain state, you might have the option to vote Green or Libertarian. The Green Party has nominated Jill Stein and it looks like Gary Johnson will be the Libertarian candidate. So where do they stand on the issues? Well since the current two-party system has our country so screwed up, both Johnson and Stein tend to identify the same issues but have differing solutions. Or they may have similar solutions but with different ways for achieving them.
Take criminal justice reform for example. Both Stein and Johnson agree that the War on Drugs has failed and too many citizens are behind bars for silly crimes. OK great start. On one hand Stein might argue that we should use the money from the War on Drugs to instead invest in community reform and outreach for drug addicts. Treating drug addiction as a public health issue instead of a crime. Johnson on the other hand might argue that drug use shouldn’t be any of the government’s business when it comes to prosecution or treatment. In this case, the money from the War on Drugs might be funneled back to the taxpayer instead of public health treatment.
When it comes to jobs Johnson would focus on the free market; including opening borders for trade and jobs as well as eliminating taxes and regulations on businesses. Stein on the other hand would hold businesses accountable through regulating trade, taxing businesses, and encouraging unions for workers.
I wanted to focus on more than just the Libertarian and Green parties in this article, but unfortunately since there aren’t really any other parties on the ballot it didn’t seem worth it. Other minor labor parties and civil liberty parties exist, but they don’t stand a chance right now. The Green Party is the best choice we have for a left-swinging labor party; and the Libertarian Party is the best choice we have for a free-market civil liberty party.
The good news is that the more people get fed up with the two-party system, the more we will see support grow for third parties. We probably won’t see a third-party candidate win the presidential election in November, but the spark has been lit. So if you’re fed up with two-party politics, get to know your state’s socialist or libertarian candidates and get out there for state elections. Get yourself involved and educated. Nothing’s going to change if we keep putting up with the status quo and arguing with our neighbors.
Jill Stein’s Platform
Gary Johnson’s Platform
third-party candidates by state
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Randi Nord lives in Pontiac, Michigan. She is a journalist for the The Fifth Column, co-founder of Geopolitics Alert, and co-hosts a podcast about geopolitics.