Winning Isn’t Everything for Some on Election Day

Nov. 4, 2008 –

Story by Zach Wilmes

Why bet on a losing horse?

Most Chicagoans have probably heard of Ralph Nader, and they might have heard that he cost Al Gore the presidential election in 2000. And though neither Nader nor any of the other third-party candidates on Illinois ballots are expected to have a big impact on this year’s elections, it hasn’t stopped them from trying. But election laws, particularly in Illinois, don’t make it easy.

Richard Winger, a leading expert on ballot access laws, says resentment toward third parties, most recently against Ross Perot and Ralph Nader, is an acknowledgment of how important they can be in determining elections and influencing policy. As a result, many states have made it hard for third-party candidates to get on the ballot, he saids.

Although we have a “highly competitive” political system, power stays concentrated between the two major parties, said Kenneth Janda, a professor emeritus of political science at Northwestern University.

“In 39 states, a group can petition its way onto the ballot,” said Winger. “Illinois has no such procedure.” Instead of a party having to gather a minimum number of signatures to get all their candidates on the ballot, each candidate must fend for himself, he said.

But Steve Brown, spokesman for the Democratic party of Illinois, said that historically, all parties have a hard time being recognized at first. Election laws aren’t in place to deter people from running, he said, but to make sure those who do are serious candidates.

For some third-party members, the prospect of not being taken seriously is discouraging.

“We don’t have a chance of winning because people won’t give us a chance,” said Gary Dunlap, chairman of the Constitution Party of Illinois. “It’s a catch-22.”

Recently, third-party candidates across the country have challenged state ballot access laws in court.

Independent congressional hopeful Allan Stevo filed suit earlier this year after he was taken off the ballot for not obtaining enough signatures, claiming Illinois’ election laws were unconstitutional. Traditionally, a third-party candidate must have the support of five percent of the total number of votes cast in their district during the previous election, and with just over 7,000 signatures in Illinois’ 10^th district, Stevo fell short of that mark.

But Stevo had a point, said Winger. In the first election after the legislative districts are redrawn, which happens every 10 years following new census data, the ballot access laws are different. Since district boundaries have changed and it would be too much trouble to figure out what five percent of the vote would’ve been had the previous election’s votes been cast within the new boundaries, a candidate simply needs 5,000 signatures, says Winger. Were this 2002 or 2012, Stevo would’ve been fine. But as a judge pointed out in refusing to add him to the ballot, it isn’t. Stevo is hoping the Illinois Supreme Court will hear his case.

“People in Illinois don’t know any of these things,” said Winger. Without public outcry, the Legislature has little incentive to change the laws, which is why candidates take their grievances to court, he said.

Third-party members like to point fingers at the media for not bringing their concerns to light, said Janda, but their blame is misdirected. “The media does cater to the two major parties, but not unfairly.  The media just recognizes the fact that the two major parties win nearly all elections” he said.

There’s nothing wrong with a strong two-party system, or with our democracy for supporting one, said Janda. The reason we’ve had a democratic government in the United States for nearly 200 years, he said, isn’t in spite of our two-party system but because of it.

But when people become disenchanted by their political environment they are more likely to turn to third parties for solutions, said Dunlap, and America’s current state of affairs, he hopes, could be the catalyst they need. “There’s always a chance that third parties can have a groundswell,” he said.

“I wouldn’t rule it out,” said Brown. “If you look at what the Republicans have done lately, they’re about to become a third party.”

Jokes aside, the importance of third parties has not been lost on candidates or voters, regardless of party affiliation.

“The fabric of our democracy depends on the ability of a third-party candidate to run,” said Noah Cepela, a student at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Cepela, who voted for Nader in 2004, said he would vote for a third party candidate in November if Obama weren’t on the ticket. “It’s the Democratic or Republican party’s fault for not having a candidate people want to vote for if the difference in an election is due to a third party,” he said.

“A vote for a third-party candidate is never a wasted vote,” said Brown. The important thing, he said, is that people are taking part in the political process.

When it comes to third parties, maybe winning isn’t everything.