Third Parties in America: Citizen Response to Major Party Failure

by Steven J. Rosenstone, Roy L. Behr, Edward H. Lazarus

In recent years a growing number of citizens have defected from the major parties to third party presidential candidates. Over the past three decades, independent campaigns led by George Wallace, John Anderson, and Ross Perot have attracted more electoral support than at any time since the 1920s. Third Parties in America explains why and when the two-party system deteriorates and third parties flourish. Relying on data from presidential elections between 1840 and 1992, it identifies the situations in which Americans abandon the major parties and shows how third parties encourage major party responsiveness and broader representation of political interests.

306 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

AN EXCELLENT HISTORY AND ANALYSIS OF "MINOR" POLITICAL PARTIES

This 1984 book is a marvelous explanation of the causes, rationale, and history of various third-party movements in America.

The authors note that "minor" parties have managed to capture 5% or more of the popular vote in a third of presidential elections since 1840, and more than 10% in 1/5th of those elections. Furthermore, their participation prevented 14 of the last 36 elected Presidents from receiving more than 50% of the popular vote (pg. 4).

They explain the "biases" which hinder third-parties: e.g., the single-member-district "plurality" system (as opposed to a "proportional representation" system) awards no seats unless a plurality of the vote is received; ballot access restrictions (which vary from state to state, requiring parties to qualify in each state separately, as well as in Washington D.C.); campaign public financing laws which only award funds to "minor" parties after the fact, etc. (Pg. 18-26)

Furthermore, the two major parties sometimes cut into third party support when they "co-opt" issues raised by third parties (Pg. 44). And even when groups such as the nonpartisan League of Women Voters invite third party candidates to participate in presidential debates (e.g., John Anderson in 1980), other candidates (e.g., Carter) may decline to appear on the same platform (pg. 118-119).

This book is an excellent and authoritative treatment of this subject.

[sara !! ⋆ ˚｡⋆★]

read for my poli sci class! actually super interesting

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excerpts: "Once a third party attracts substantial backing, one or both of the major parties, anxious to win over those supporters, seize the minor party's ideas as their own... Thus the power of third parties lies in their capacity to affect the content and range of political discourse, and ultimately public policy, by raising issues and options that the two major parties have ignored... Third parties are one of the many vehicles people use to express their concerns..."

-Third Parties In America

[Public Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This topic is of particular fascination for me, so it was very enlightening to have a cohesive theory of third parties in the United States explicated. If there was one drawback it's that the focus is almost entirely on presidential campaigns... this reader was hoping for a slightly broader scope. However, the authors' theories are well-developed and supported by data. The extensive descriptions and equations are a bit much for the layman, but easily skipped over. According to my searches for books on this topic, this is pretty much the beginning and end of scholarship in this area.