US political parties: Difficulties facing minor parties
- Created by: Jess
- Created on: 09-04-13 17:27
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- Difficulties facing minor parties
- Rarely win a sizeable proportion of votes
- In 2008, their votes combined popular vote was less than 1%
- First-Past-The-Post electoral system
- In 1992, Ross Perot won no electoral college votes despite wining 19% of the popular votes. His votes were spread throughout the entire USA.
- 'Matching funds'
- Third parties qualify by winning 5% of the vote in a previous election
- Within the last 50 years there has only been 3 third party candidates.
- Wallace (1968)
- Anderson (1980)
- Perot (1992 & 1996)
- Within the last 50 years there has only been 3 third party candidates.
- Third parties qualify by winning 5% of the vote in a previous election
- State ballot access laws
- In New York a third party candidate must gain a certain number of signatures in every country to get their name on the state ballot.
- In California the number of signatures required is equal to 1% of the electorate in the state.
- In 1980, Anderson had to spend about $3 million getting his name on the ballot in all 50 states
- Media coverage
- Can't afford their own advertisement& news programmes consider them not news worthy
- In 2000, Nader was exluded from TV debates
- Ideology
- Most ideologies are covered by the major parties & Americans tend to vote for mainstream parties.
- Rarely win a sizeable proportion of votes
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