Third Parties and Voter Behavior

Paper Summary:

The paper relates that, although voters in the United States often express dissatisfaction with the two-party system, third political parties gain little traction in the American system. The paper explains that the two major political parties are well established with a long history and the electorate believes that a third party would require a long time to gain the same degree of power and influence. The paper examines the theory of political realignment that explains what underlies voting behavior and shows how third parties that are based on the role of one personality are less likely to last than one based on some mutual political ideology.

From the Paper:

"Voters in the United States often express dissatisfaction with the two-party system, but in spite of this, third political parties gain little traction in the American system and rarely have even at the local level. From time to time, a group will try to start a third political party, but with little success. Minor parties do gain some ground in local regions, so that for years the Conservative Party in New York state won a few elections, enough to maintain itself a an entity separate from the Republican Party. Still, third parties do not have the same appeal for voters as the established Democratic and republican parties"

Sample of Sources Used:

• Brady, David W. and Kara M. Buckley. "Coalitions and Policy in the U.S. Congress." In The Parties Respond, L. Sandy Maisel (ed.). Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1994.
• Eldersveld, Samuel P. and Hanes Walton Jr. Political Parties in American Society. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2000.
• Georges, Christopherr (1993, June). "Perot and Con." Washington Monthly, 38-43.
• Lazare, Daniel. "America the Undemocratic." New Left Review, Volume a, Issue 232 (1998), 3-44.
• Reiter, Howard L. Parties and Elections in Corporate America. New York: Longman, 1993.

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