Why Third Parties Can't Compete
by Bruce Bartlett
May 14, 2010

In a NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released on May 12, 83% of Americans said there are serious problems with our two-party system. Many have repeatedly said that they want more choices than just those offered by the Republicans and Democrats. Unfortunately, the Constitution essentially makes third parties unviable. But there are still ways we could improve politics without upending a system that has on balance worked pretty well for more than 200 years.

. . . One option I have long favored for giving third parties more influence without the necessity of changing the Constitution or abandoning the two-party system would be fusion voting. Under such a system, third parties could cross-endorse major party candidates and have their votes aggregated. Such a system has long operated in New York, which has a Conservative Party, Liberal Party and many others. Oregon has recently adopted this system as well.