The Spoiler Myth
Democrats Should Abandon the Third-Party “Spoiler”
Why The Democratic Party Fights To Keep Greens Off The Ballot
The myths that just won’t die (Repeat after me: Ross Perot didn’t cost George H.W. Bush the election)
Debunking The “Spoiler Effect”
- As of 2020, the Republican Party has won Utah in 17 of the last 18 presidential elections. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_elections_in_Utah) Recent national surveys show Utah to be one of the most Republican states in the nation.
- Elections are spoiled by the current structure of the elections system, not who runs.
- Third-party candidates have rarely received any Electoral College votes
- The data do not support the spoiler argument, e.g.,
- Studies compiled at the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at Cornell University show that in recent presidential elections, between 7 to 11 percent of registered Democrats abandoned their party allegiance and voted for the GOP candidate instead. In 2016, around 8 percent of Democrats nationwide actually voted for Trump, while the third-party candidates Stein, Libertarian Gary Johnson and Independent Evan McMullin combined received merely 4.93 percent of the popular vote.
Ranked Choice Voting (RCV)
RCV allows voters to express their preferences knowing that supporting their favorite candidate will not inadvertently help their least favored candidate.
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The Green New Deal
The Green New Deal will convert the old, gray economy into a new, sustainable economy that is environmentally sound, economically viable and socially responsible.
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Green Party of Utah 