Jim Higgins, Libertarian Candidate for Missouri Governor

Billy Frank Thornton August 7, 2012 at 05:41 pm

Good luck Mr Higgins. You'll have at least two votes...if you vote for yourself. The two major political parties are having parties at the citizens expense.

Sharpie November 5, 2012 at 06:35 am

On the ballot for the Presidency, Gov. Gary Johnson (Libertarian) and Dr. Jill Stein (Green).
Make a special note to remember to watch the Free and Equal Election Debate between third party candidates, Gov. Gary Johnson and Dr. Jill Stein to be aired tonight on Monday evening, Nov. 5th from 9:00 - 10:30 pm Eastern Time. Perform a worthwhile civic duty, and be certain to listen in on this historic debate so that you can make an informed decision on voting day. Third party candidates who will be on the ballot in most states deserve to be heard. http://freeandequal.org/?v=1

Mike K November 5, 2012 at 11:01 am

Unfortunately, until we get Condorcet voting, a two-party system is what we will have.
Plenty of game theory support for 'free and fair' elections degenerating into 1) two party systems, and 2) movement to extreme political positions because that is who is most energized to undertake the effort to vote. I would like to vote Libertarian or Green, but the reality is that I really don't want one of the two major parties to be POTUS and so I must vote for the other party

Olive U November 5, 2012 at 01:10 pm

Mike that just doesn't make sense - I was raised to vote for the person that I think will do the best job - not to vote for someone just because the other guy may win. If you want to vote for the 3rd party candidate you should - it is the one way they may get noticed and taken serious in future elections.

Mike K November 6, 2012 at 08:31 pm

My vote is for today's election, not tomorrow's, nor on the election process. It makes perfect sense to vote for the candidate who actually can win who *is* the best for the job - compared to the other candidate who also has a significant chance to win.
The problem is the process, and that is controlled by the two parties we have that collude to 'divide the spoils' between them. Any changes to the process will have to come from the bottom up, not the top down. Since we are voting for the top now, that is the choice I have with my vote - who will be the lesser of the two evils. In that view, voting is really against a particular candidate, not for one. And to make your vote against a candidate meaningful, the only choice is to ensure the election of some other candidate - the other party in a de facto two-party system. Which is why I support Condorcet voting. But changing from a runoff/winner-take-all system will not happen as a result of anyone's vote today. The place to do that is by changing local elections first. It is the only way third or multiple parties will ever succeed in not being marginalized.