(Political theory) Voters should understand why third parties can’t succeed in the US. We vote using one of the many voting systems found across the world call first-past-the-post (FPTP). This means that we vote for someone within a designated geographic area, and whichever candidate has the most votes in the area takes all (note: they do not need a majority, just the most.) Political science has very few laws, but one is that a FPTP system will ALMOST ALWAYS favor a two party system. I understand why our strong two-party system is frustrating, but consider that our electoral system’s design strongly encourages this status quo and attempting to break that by voting for a third candidate can hurt the chances of the mainstream candidate who more closely aligns with your views.
