Oshkosh
Northwestern
Commentary:
Two-party system spoils real choice in elections
By
Tony Palmeri
November
7, 2004
Since obtaining 9 percent of the vote in
my attempt as a Green Party candidate to unseat Gregg Underheim, I
have been attacked as a “spoiler” by a small group of Gordon
Hintz supporters who arrogantly insist that my votes would have gone
to the Democrat. This is the same tired, bitter, and false malarkey
trotted out every time third party candidates step forward to
challenge our sick political system and the narrow choices it
provides us.
My supporters are Greens, Independents, first time voters,
Democrats, Republicans and many others. Had I not been in the race,
a good number of my supporters would have voted for Dan Carpenter or
not voted. Neither Hintz nor Underheim are entitled to these votes
just because they are establishment party candidates. We should
applaud third party and independent candidates for having the
courage to say “No!” to politics as usual.
For the majority of voters and non-voters, the choice between the
establishment party candidates is the choice between the “evil”
and “lesser evil.” Whenever a voter has an opportunity to vote
for a third party candidate that represents their hopes and values,
the voter is told that they are “wasting” their vote and that
their favorite candidate will “spoil” the election for one of
the establishment candidates. Millions of voters nationwide end up
voting for something that they don’t want because what they
actually do want “can't win.” Millions more simply do not vote
at all.
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The solution cannot be to tell third party candidates to shut up or
not run for office. The solution cannot be to tell Palmeri and
Carpenter voters that they don't have the right to vote for their
favorite candidates. These are unrealistic, totalitarian solutions
that give us citizens apathy, lack of meaningful choices at the
polls, and politics as usual.
In this year's race for the 54th assembly district, the real spoiler
was the “plurality” voting method that allowed Underheim to win
the election even though a majority of voters (54 percent) chose
other candidates.
The solution is very simple. In any multiple-candidate race where
the first-place candidate does not receive more than 50 percent of
the vote, there should be a runoff election between the top two
candidates. The runoff could take place two weeks or a month later,
and it would ensure that the winner goes to Madison with a clear
majority of votes. Many states and municipalities already use runoff
voting.
An even better solution is Instant Runoff Voting (IRV). Also known
as ‘rank choice’ voting, IRV allows voters to vote for their
first, second, and third choice candidates in one trip to the polls.
If no candidate is the first choice of at least 50 percent of the
voters, IRV allows for a same day runoff. IRV ensures that the
winning candidate enjoys true support from the majority of the
voters and it eliminates the concern that a vote for a third party
candidate is “wasted.” Assembly Bill 911 would allow IRV in
Wisconsin, yet neither major party seems too motivated to see it
pass. They’d rather see third parties go away, which is not going
to happen.
The Democratic and Republican parties at various times have been
outraged by third party “stealing” of “their” votes. Yet
rather than reform our antiquated, unfair, and undemocratic election
procedures, they choose to attack third party and independent
candidates as “spoilers.” The truth is that the Republican and
Democratic leadership feel they benefit from the corrupt system in
place, so they feel no great pressure to change it.
For those Oshkosh citizens taking nasty, cheap shots at Dan
Carpenter and myself, I urge you to become an activist to reform
Wisconsin's elections. Support AB 911. The bill is stalled in
committee and will not pass unless citizens demand it.
It is impossible for independents and third parties to spoil a
system that is already spoiled. Instead of wasting valuable time and
energy attacking thousands for exercising their democratic rights,
let's start a real citizens' movement to bring some necessary
reforms to our state. Absent such a movement, we will never get
reforms from the corporate occupied legislatures in Madison and
Washington.
Tony Palmeri is a professor of communications at UW-Oshkosh. |