Third Parties

Why do Third Parties form?

• Third parties often form in response to a particular set of ideas or beliefs. They may form if they believe that the Republican or Democratic party is not pushing for the ideas they believe are needed.
• There are various forms of third parties including but not limited to:
  • Ideological Parties: parties designated to a specific set of beliefs. Examples: Socialist & Libertarians
  • Splinter Parties: A party that broke off from one of the major parties. Examples: Bull-Moose
  • Economic Protest Parties: form in response to economic concerns. Examples: Greenback or Populist.
  • Single-Issue Parties: support a single issue being addressed. Examples: Know-Nothings, Prohibition

Modern Third Parties

• Various parties have formed in the U.S. as a third party but again are not elected to high level positions in the government. One of the notable third party candidates was Ross Perot who ran in 1992 under the United We Stand America party did not accomplish his ultimate goal of winning office but he did split off votes and had an impact on the election results leading to a W for Clinton.
• In the 2016 election, Gary Johnson ran as the Libertarian. He came in third place when it came to popular vote which is significant as it once again shifted votes from the other candidates.

Barriers to Third Parties

• Most often the U.S. has single-member districts which allows for the candidate with the most votes in the district to win the office. There is no second place winner in this option.
• Most third party candidates do not have the funding they need to really make a lot of ground in a major election. Perot was able to self-finance his campaign but even then he did not make substantial headway in the election.
• Third parties need at least 1.5 million signatures in order to be on the ballot and must also pay a fee. They have to either get others to help them or collect the signatures and money for the fees on their own, a difficult process.
• The Winner Take All system in the U.S. (minus Nebraska and Maine which use proportional) does not provide for an advantage for third party candidates. In order to win the Electoral College, you have to have at least 270 votes, a feat not accomplished by third parties. There have been times in U.S. history when Presidents did not win the popular vote and won the election and this is largely due to the influence of third parties.
• In Swing States- third parties do not often receive as much attention and do not get to make as much of a difference in those states which might elect either way.

Influence on Agendas

• Though third parties have never won election, what they have done is make their causes known. For example, some third parties emphasized more civil liberties in the U.S. and this led to increasing legislation that promoted civil rights. Ralph Nader was able to influence consumer protection laws after having written Unsafe at Any Speed.