Are third parties even feasible under the U.S. system of government?
I think they are feasible in a parliamentary system of government, but I don't think the U.S. system, as designed and set out in the Constitution, really allows for three or more parties, since the Presidency would always be determined by less than a majority of the votes.
This article describes the problems with various voting models that seek to overcome that issue: Fair Voting Between More Than Two Candidates Is Mathematically Impossible
While the mathematical issues remain also exist on the legislative side with respect individual races, one can argue that, on the macro scale, it has a chance of working out (if each party ends up with the number of legislators roughly proportionate to that party's percentage of voters in the voting population). But that's simply not possible when it comes to the Presidency.
I think they are feasible in a parliamentary system of government, but I don't think the U.S. system, as designed and set out in the Constitution, really allows for three or more parties, since the Presidency would always be determined by less than a majority of the votes.
This article describes the problems with various voting models that seek to overcome that issue: Fair Voting Between More Than Two Candidates Is Mathematically Impossible
While the mathematical issues remain also exist on the legislative side with respect individual races, one can argue that, on the macro scale, it has a chance of working out (if each party ends up with the number of legislators roughly proportionate to that party's percentage of voters in the voting population). But that's simply not possible when it comes to the Presidency.
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