• WhatIsThePointAnyway@lemmy.world
    396·
    1 month ago

    So what’s the plan to change it? All I have heard proposed is don’t vote or vote third party. No third party is remotely close to having a real shot in the near term. I am disappointed in Biden on some things like Palestine, but what are my options in the near term? We need to build a progressive grass roots party but that takes time, money, and a lot of work no one seems to want to do. Protests are a path but not one that seems to be making enough impact. I hear so much negativity like this but it seems to all point towards options that won’t fix the issue. Getting Trump back will set back progressive movements drastically with the rights hold on the courts and the house. Biden has done some compromise to the left at least. We need a real path to change and it’s got to be a long term plan because democracies move slowly.

    • PopOfAfrica@lemmy.world
      123·
      1 month ago

      I get the people are too nervous to do it this election cycle, but the real answer is to create an organized movement in which you explicitly tell Democrats they will not get your votes unless they change course.

      Let’s say that this movement occurs within the next four years and not during this election cycle. If they genuinely want to win, they will have to capitulate. We just need to give them enough time in advance and the make clear concise demands.

    • Ellvix@lemmy.world
      82·
      1 month ago

      Changing the voting system would do a lot. First Past the Post sort of locks in a 2 party only matchup, and if we move to a better system (ranked choice, star, etc), third party candidates would be a real option and we could start to make those changes you want. As always, it starts local, some places are doing it already, we just need to keep expanding.

    • corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
      3·
      1 month ago

      All I have heard proposed is don’t vote or vote third party.

      This is how the Conservatives ensure they can keep drilling holes. All research points to vote-splitting or abstaining as helping the cons, since a hallmark of their culture is loyalty over all.

    • LizEnglish
      31·
      1 month ago

      Join up withElection Science and switch your elections to Approval Voting. That’s the first step. Approval means it’s always safe to vote for your favorite, so third parties will start to see their true level of support in elections with approval voting.

      But, if we leave it there we won’t get more than a few extra third party candidates in office because single-winner elections always force two-party dominance. So once we get enough elections switched to approval, we go to multi-winner elections in legislative districts and use Sequential Proportional Approval Voting. Which is just the multi-winner version.

      Approval is a very easy switch. If your election commission can do at-large elections (practically guaranteed) then they can do approval elections just by setting the selection limit to the number is candidates in the race.

      Let me know if you want to know more. Running a referendum campaign is a lot of work and massively rewarding. It’s the kind of “bigger than yourself” project that really makes people love their community.