This is a good first step in breaking the two-party lock on our politics. Ranked choice voting is another good step. Expanding the House of Representatives might also give smaller "third parties" the opportunity to win seats in Congress.
I've written about repealing the 1967 Uniform Districts Act, which made every congressional district a single-seat district, and thus every election winner-take-all, and a head to head fight between Democrats and Republicans. I think multi-seat districts, or slate elections, particularly with ranked choice voting, would really open the door to other parties. Whether that is realistic or not is another question. But our system is foundering and we should swing for the fences.
All is not yet lost. We can still pull out of this political downward death spiral and tap into the vital center of civic minded public opinion. We only have to pull ourselves away from the hypnotic, political party pendulum on which we are at once mindlessly entrapped and myopically enthralled. Only then, will there be enough space for principle, decency, and simple common sense to prevail. Whether one is a passionately empathetic liberal, an authentic values-based conservative, or simply a wisely pragmatic centrist, the only viable path back to at least some semblance of respectfully productive political dialogue in our currently surreal, almost absurdist political environment is by first becoming an unabashed, objectively analytical anti-partisan.
At the risk of being a downer: I've lived in Wash since 1990, and I've seen the before and after of the top-two primary. I hoped it would help, but it hasn't made any meaningful change. It didn't encourage more third parties; if anything the duopoly is stronger now than before. Possibly it could work better in other places where old-fashioned urban party machines are entrenched.
A key difference between the MA initiative and WA is that WA initiative includes endorsements on the ballot and fusion. 3rd parties would now be able to show up on the primary ballot.
This is a good first step in breaking the two-party lock on our politics. Ranked choice voting is another good step. Expanding the House of Representatives might also give smaller "third parties" the opportunity to win seats in Congress.
I've written about repealing the 1967 Uniform Districts Act, which made every congressional district a single-seat district, and thus every election winner-take-all, and a head to head fight between Democrats and Republicans. I think multi-seat districts, or slate elections, particularly with ranked choice voting, would really open the door to other parties. Whether that is realistic or not is another question. But our system is foundering and we should swing for the fences.
The one thing the two parties always agree upon is that there should be two and only two parties.
All is not yet lost. We can still pull out of this political downward death spiral and tap into the vital center of civic minded public opinion. We only have to pull ourselves away from the hypnotic, political party pendulum on which we are at once mindlessly entrapped and myopically enthralled. Only then, will there be enough space for principle, decency, and simple common sense to prevail. Whether one is a passionately empathetic liberal, an authentic values-based conservative, or simply a wisely pragmatic centrist, the only viable path back to at least some semblance of respectfully productive political dialogue in our currently surreal, almost absurdist political environment is by first becoming an unabashed, objectively analytical anti-partisan.
Zen Fox
http://substack.com/@capitalfox
At the risk of being a downer: I've lived in Wash since 1990, and I've seen the before and after of the top-two primary. I hoped it would help, but it hasn't made any meaningful change. It didn't encourage more third parties; if anything the duopoly is stronger now than before. Possibly it could work better in other places where old-fashioned urban party machines are entrenched.
A key difference between the MA initiative and WA is that WA initiative includes endorsements on the ballot and fusion. 3rd parties would now be able to show up on the primary ballot.