Contact information

MidTide Media 123 Pleasant St Suite 300. Marblehead, MA 01945.

Originally published on IVN

Of the United States’ many political problems, one glaring issue is the fact that we have a two-party system representing a wide array of opinions.

It’s a bigger problem than most people think. While independents make up over ⅓ of US registered voters–and generally they remain almost entirely unrepresented in Congress–people within each party disagree wildly. Pew’s amazing study on political typology shows that there are at least 4 distinct blocks within each party, all of which have very different views of how to run the country.

Because parties tend to have a single platform, this means that at most only one of those groups is fully represented. When you slice things up at this level, you see that almost all Americans are poorly represented in Congress.

A two-party system comes about when you use a first-past-the-post system in single-representation districts. In such a system you vote once for one person to represent your whole district, and whoever gets the most votes wins. It may not even be a majority. Everyone who didn’t vote for that winner is essentially unrepresented.

The reason it leads to a two-party system is explained by Duverger’s law: if there are more than two parties, two of them are likely to unite to have the best chance of getting to that plurality. Those which don’t will always be beaten by those that do, and thus they will die.

Voting like this is so natural to Americans–and so simple–that it can seem intimidating or even inconceivable to vote a different way. However, almost every other democracy votes substantially differently. From parliamentary proportional systems to using ranked choice voting, many systems can bring about a multiparty system.

One of the most interesting cases is Ireland. I want to share it with you so you understand what’s not only possible, but what works. It’s also just plain fascinating.

Ireland is broken up into multi-party districts, which have between three and five representatives each (the number of representatives is re-assigned in each census). People vote for all of these seats, using ranked choice voting. This means of all the people running, they list their favorites from #1 to #N. The votes are counted, the last-placed person (having the fewest #1 votes) is discarded, and their votes are re-assigned. This is repeated until you have a number of winners equal to the number of seats.

What happens? You have districts that have representatives from multiple parties. In fact, no district in Ireland has representatives from only one party; in many districts, every single representative is part of a different party. In some, you’ll have two or even three from the same party. Here’s a map of the current representation below:

In Ireland, therefore:

  1. Everyone has representatives from multiple parties, which makes it far more likely that your own views are more accurately and completely represented in legislature

  2. It’s easy for many parties to exist, because there’s no winner-take-all system

Ireland is set up to have many parties, and have a higher level of representation of the multiplicity of political viewpoints of its people. Sounds pretty good, eh?

The United States doesn’t have to be a two-party system, and we don’t have to vote the way we currently do. My favorite organization working on this is FairVote; if you want to help the united States’ democracy become more representative and less captured by only two parties, they’re a great group to work with.

38 Comments

  • Brady Kroeker, December 17, 2017 @ 11:35 pm Reply

    I recently listened to your podcast on this subject and thought. I might try to answer the peculiarities with Duverger’s law that you brought up while discussing the United Kingdom, using the example of Canada. In Canada, at the federal level at least, there are three viable parties, the Liberals, New Democrats, or more correctly. This forms a 2.5 party system. The main reason for this is the Liberals are quite centrist. Due to this positioning, they are quite mailable in ideology, shifting to centre- right or left, depending on the political climate of the day. As a result, they suck up quite a bit of the vote, and the centre-left party, and the New Democrats, and ht conservatives occupy your traditional poles in the fptp system. Something similar might be happening in the United Kingdom. In addition, regionalism tends to play a role in this as well, as regional distinctions are much sharper in other countries compared to the United States.

  • Peter Roycroft, January 7, 2018 @ 6:43 pm Reply

    As somebody who lives in Ireland the downside is that the elected members of parliament (TD’s, an abbreciation of the Irish language title), are obsessed with local issues rather than focusing on national matters. Clientelism is endemic in the Irish political system, partly becaue it is a small country but also because in the case of the larger parties people are running against members of their own party in a multi-seat constituency. They can’t distinguish themselves from a fellow party member by discussing matters of policy so they resort to becoming "fixers" who can be relied upon to help constituents with matters that in reality have nothing to do with their role as legislators. I believe there are better models of proportional representation out there and wish we in Ireland were not stuck with a system so weighed down by parochial matters.

    • Erik Fogg, January 8, 2018 @ 9:20 pm Reply

      Y’know I’ve heard the word "parochial" used by many Irish folks about Irish politics, and never really put two and two together on the incentives here. Super-insightful; thank you.

  • health insurance, March 30, 2021 @ 10:19 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Here you can find 5382 additional Info to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • ดูบอลสด, May 2, 2021 @ 10:23 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • W88casino.net, May 21, 2021 @ 1:32 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More here on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • microsoft exchange online plan 1, June 26, 2021 @ 11:56 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] There you will find 83511 additional Information on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • bilişim danışmanlık sözleşmesi, June 29, 2021 @ 5:29 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Information on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • weed for sale, October 16, 2021 @ 6:30 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Information to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • digitollblog, October 17, 2021 @ 8:15 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More on on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • https://www.ktvn.com/story/45176209/best-essay-writing-services-of-2021-in-depth-expert-review, November 12, 2021 @ 6:37 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] There you will find 67533 more Info to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • things to do, December 2, 2021 @ 5:03 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • Car dealership security, December 17, 2021 @ 12:15 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More here on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • https, February 10, 2022 @ 6:18 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More Information here to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • คาสิโนออนไลน์เว็บตรง, May 2, 2022 @ 5:52 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More Information here on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • valid cvv for ebay, May 6, 2022 @ 8:05 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More on on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • Alyssa SALT - love song, June 22, 2022 @ 2:33 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More here to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • stucco repair, June 26, 2022 @ 6:35 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • แทงบอลโลก, August 17, 2022 @ 10:00 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • maxbet, August 22, 2022 @ 11:35 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] There you can find 37902 more Info to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • marlin firearms, September 9, 2022 @ 7:13 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More Info here to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • เพื่อนแท้ เงินด่วนกาฬสินธุ์, October 12, 2022 @ 4:35 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More Info here on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • bullet journal template, November 2, 2022 @ 4:27 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Here you can find 52416 additional Information to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • go, December 10, 2022 @ 6:47 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] There you will find 57376 additional Information to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • Study in Africa, December 29, 2022 @ 11:28 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • Key Wall Safe, January 4, 2023 @ 4:21 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Here you will find 22334 more Info on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • farmers link, January 14, 2023 @ 6:15 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Information to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • mushroom microdosing for depression, January 19, 2023 @ 4:49 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More on on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • gas powered drift rc cars, January 28, 2023 @ 7:21 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More on on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • สินเชื่อที่ดินแลกเงิน, February 7, 2023 @ 2:19 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More on on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • mp3juices, February 7, 2023 @ 9:48 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • address, February 17, 2023 @ 8:44 pm Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Information to that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • เล่นบาคาร่า, March 15, 2023 @ 12:45 am Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Here you will find 37937 more Info on that Topic: reconsidermedia.com/two-party-system-drowning-us-politics-ireland-offers-a-lifeboat/ […]

  • piano music, October 9, 2023 @ 7:10 am Reply

    piano music

  • study jazz, October 9, 2023 @ 9:53 am Reply

    study jazz

  • relaxing piano music, October 21, 2023 @ 6:48 pm Reply

    relaxing piano music

  • stress relief, October 27, 2023 @ 1:15 pm Reply

    stress relief

  • trap music, November 23, 2023 @ 5:22 am Reply

    trap music

Leave a Reply