Should Third Parties Support ‘Vote Pacts’ To Avoid ‘Spoiling’ Elections?

Unlike other vote swapping schemes which pair a voter in a swing state with a voter in a ‘safe’ state, a vote pact pairs voters across party lines who each promise to cast their ballots for a third-party candidate instead.

Kit O'Connell
By Kit O'Connell
Green party presidential candidate Jill Stein, foreground, meets her supporters during a campaign stop at Humanist Hall in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016.

Third-party candidates are often accused of acting as “spoilers” by siphoning votes from the two major parties’ nominees and potentially tipping the balance in an election. Perhaps the most notable example of this is Ralph Nader. The former Green Party candidate is frequently accused of helping George W. Bush win the 2000 presidential election

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Commission On Presidential Debates Shuts Out 2016 Third Party Candidates

There is clearly an unprecedented desire for alternatives to the Republican and Democratic nominees, and voters deserve an opportunity to see and hear that there are, in fact, other credible, serious choices.”

Nadia Prupis
By Nadia Prupis
Donald Trump and Ben Carson watt before a Republican presidential debate at Milwaukee Theatre, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

The U.S. Commission on Presidential Debates on Monday released the polls it will use to determine which candidates will take to the stage in September for their first presidential debate—and shut out third-party candidates in the process. The Hill reports: Candidates will need to hit an average of 15 percent in polls conducted by ABC/Washington

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Socialist Presidential Candidate Gloria La Riva: ‘We Live Under The Dictatorship Of Big Capital’

‘Real power is in the hands of the banks, monopoly corporations, and the military-industrial complex,’ the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s presidential candidate says. ‘Fundamental change requires taking that power out of their hands and putting it in the hands of the people.’

Robert Fantina
By Robert Fantina

SAN FRANCISCO --- The two major parties have nominated deeply unpopular candidates, and third-party candidates are drawing nearly unprecedented amounts of attention this election season. Gary Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico who is running on the Libertarian ticket, and Green Party nominee Dr. Jill Stein are leading the pack of

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