The United States’ political landscape has been dominated by the Democratic and Republican parties for more than a century. Many U.S. citizens apathetically underestimate the prospect of alternative political parties. However, recent political events in the country have made clear the need for a third party rooted in genuine leftism.
The U.S. political spectrum has been simplified by the binary of liberalism and conservatism. The political climate has rendered one political party diluted in political ideology, while leaving the other increasingly more unstable. The Democrats, who supposedly represent the left in the United States, have lobbied for pharmaceutical companies at the expense of public health, failed to challenge the prison industrial complex and remained virtually silent on the use of drones on civilian populations abroad. The Republicans, conversely, have adhered more closely to their ideological background and alienated those who do not share their political agenda, thus making their party unviable to millions of marginalized peoples.
This political instability of the right led to the rise of President Donald Trump’s candidacy. Although he alienated millions with his racist and sexist rhetoric, one demographic was enthralled by Trump’s economic promises: the white working class. As one of the segments of our society that has suffered the most due to outsourcing of jobs like in the de-industrialized Rust Belt, the working-class white population voted in droves to support a candidate they believed would enhance the U.S. economy.
Bernie Sanders similarly enjoyed support from white working-class voters. Whereas Trump’s base of support was racially homogenous, Sanders’ platform was far more inclusive as his vision of social democracy was able to bridge the gap between minority groups and the white working class.
Although the juxtaposition between Sanders and Trump is apparent, they share a major commonality: neither was the political establishment’s first choice. Part of their appeal was that neither were truly party members and the ideas they conveyed resonated with people. Recent surveys reveal that almost 60 percent of U.S. citizens believe a third major political party is vital for our political system. Because Sanders’ leftist platform successfully served as a nexus for minorities and the white working class, this new third party should be one rooted in the politics of the far left.
However, the current electoral system in place prevents third parties from succeeding in the United States. In political science, Duverger’s law states that voters do not want to waste their ballot so they vote for whomever they think actually has a chance to win, thus third-party candidates find it difficult to win a congressional or state legislative seat. Many electoral reform activists favor scrapping the electoral college to open up the possibility of a third party successfully winning an election.
But a better solution exists — replacing our winner-take-all system with a proportional representation system, which has become the predominant voting system among advanced democracies. The United States, Canada and Great Britain are the only Western democracies that still use winner-take-all systems.
In addition to discriminating against third parties, the winner-take-all system has substantial drawbacks, such as preventing full representation of a large amount of voters and creating legislatures that do not accurately parallel the views of the public. Individuals supporting minor parties are forced to decide among wasting their vote on a candidate who cannot win, voting for the lesser of two evils or abstaining. Our current electoral system is engineered against minor parties to safeguard the two major parties from any competition.
In a proportional representation system, legislators are elected in multimember districts instead of single-member. The amount of seats awarded to a party depends on the level of support among voters. As a result, both working class whites and minorities receive fair representation. Proportional representation systems were created to address the numerous issues created by plurality-majority voting systems; they produce more precise representation of parties, better representation of minorities and women, a higher chance of majority rule and little-to-no room for gerrymandering.
Not only will alternative political parties and movements find new strength and potential influence under such a system, but voters will appreciate the change too. Nations with proportional representation systems enjoy higher voter turnout than their winner-take-all counterparts.
Adoption of a proportional representation system would be most feasible on the local level and for congressional elections since only city charters and a 1967 federal law would need to be modified. Some states have already successfully implemented proportional representation systems in local elections, using the system to elect representatives fairly. The debate over proportional representation has just begun in this country, but it is clear that the public desires fairer and more democratic elections that would support a multiparty system.
A recent exit poll revealed that significantly more college students in 2016 desired a third party compared to 2012. If we want to successfully establish a more leftist party that unites the white working class and minority groups, we should carefully analyze this electoral reform as a viable option.
Hooman Ibrahim and Sarah Tucker are seniors majoring in business administration.