Electoral Reform

4 Pages 945 Words

America for a large part of its history has been controlled by two major political parties, the Republicans and the Democrats. Our country is split between the two with an electoral system that encourages the development of a two-party system, giving an unfair balance of power to them in the political world. As each party moves closer to the political center it is important for third parties to have a legitimate chance at gaining positions of power to better represent the American people. Reformation of America’s electoral system is necessary to promote a multi-party system in order to give the American citizens a more accurate voice in the direction they want the nation to go.
First to clarify a move towards a multi-party system would not mean a move towards a parliamentary system, but one that allows more opportunity for third parties to be larger part of America’s policy making. Then we must look at the pros and cons of having a two-party system, if there is no need to move away from a system dominated by two parties then a call for electoral reform may not be necessary.
America’s two major parties cover each side of a broad ideological spectrum making it easy to align with a party that represents a few key hot button issues, which have become the center of the political agenda throughout the years. This is good so as to not create confusion between candidates and what each party stands for; there would be too many candidates with similar platforms to be efficient. Two parties make it easy for someone to vote a straight ticket to ensure their views will be expressed at all levels of government. A two-party system creates further efficiency when it comes to policy making, power is distributed more evenly making it easier to get your policies passed without having to make concessions. Governments with two dominant parties are also faster, with one clear cut majority policy making can be rather quick so you can get more done r...