The Growing Independent Majority and the Necessity of Ballot Access and Electoral Reform

Some excerpts from my latest column at CAIVN:

A new poll by the Washington Post and ABC News finds that Democrats and Republicans barely constitute a majority when one tallies their percentages together: less than a third identify as Democrats (31%), less than a quarter call themselves Republicans (24%), and a whopping 40% describe themselves as Independents.

This raises a basic question. If so many people are unwilling to identify with the Democratic and Republican parties, and prefer to describe themselves as Independents, why do they continue to vote for Democrats and Republicans rather than Independents or third party alternatives?

There are two conventional answers to this question: 1) these voters are not “really” Independent; rather, they “lean” toward one major party or the other but refuse to identify with the label; 2) the hurdles encountered by third party and Independent candidates are simply too great to be overcome. Clearly, however, these two issues are interrelated. Given the systemic bias in favor of the Democratic and Republican parties, voters do not really have any choice but to vote Democrat or Republican when it comes time to cast their ballots, if they vote at all . . .

Overcoming the systemic bias in favor of the legacy parties is one of the greatest and most pressing political issues facing the people of the United States. . . . This November, California voters have the opportunity to elect an outspoken electoral reformer for Secretary of State, Libertarian Party candidate Christina Tobin.

Read the whole thing.