Sorry, but we are stuck with 2 parties

Like many, I’ve long despised the 2 party system, and have wished for a 3rd or even 4th party. Wouldn’t it be great if we could have a 4 way race, so we had more choices for president?

Recently someone pointed out to me exactly what that would mean, and it isn’t pretty.

An estimated 43% of Americans identify as independents. Let’s forget the fact that the majority of these voters typically align and vote with one party or the other, and say that the candidates this cycle are both so awful (and yes, they are awful) that Gary Johnson and Jill Stein manage to turn this into a 4 way race. And lets say that they somehow manage to get that entire indie voting block, so the final totals break down as follows:

43% for Johnson or Stein
57% for Trump or Clinton

And let’s say that the 538 electoral votes roughly break down the same way:

231 for Johnson or Stein
307 for Clinton or Trump

Or if they are split up between candidates:

115: Stein
115: Johnson

154: Clinton
154: Trump

A majority of electoral votes (270) are required to win the presidency. If no candidate reaches 270, the House of Representatives get to decide the election.

In other words, the best case scenario for a 3rd party candidate in terms of votes would still not get them elected.

What’s worse, if we somehow manage to get strong 3rd and 4th party candidates every 4 years, we would always end up handing the election over to the House of Representatives. Every single time. A 4 way race doesn’t give us more choice, it simply takes the choice out of our hands and gives it to Congress.

A 3rd party isn’t the way to break the 2 party system. To do that, we would need to fundamentally change the way we hold elections. I don’t look for that to happen within our lifetime.

The ugly truth is that we’re stuck with the 2 parties.