A ârecord-breakingâ 1.62 million signatures qualified Americans Elect for next Novemberâs ballot.
A state as large and media-centric as California will put the group in the national media spotlight.
According to its website (http://www.americanselect.org), Americans Elect âis a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that is not affiliated with any political party, ideology or candidate. It is funded exclusively by individual contributionsâand not from corporate, labor, special interest, foreign, or lobbyist sources.â
Its goal is âto nominate a presidential ticket that answers directly to votersânot the political system,â by âusing the Internet to break the gridlock in Washington, open up the political process and give every single voterâDemocrat, Republican or independentâthe power to nominate a presidential ticket in 2012.â (The âvirtualâ selection process will feature the countryâs first, on-line Presidential nominating convention.)
Nationally, a third party ticket has not won the White House, but some have siphoned votes from major candidatesâbecoming the âspoilerâ in a tight election.
Another perspective on Americans Elect
What does this latest iteration mean to California? Can Americans Elect evolve into a new electoral force? (The group insists it âis not a political committee or a traditional third partyâ.) Could it open the door to a Third party in the Golden State?
U.S. & World
Todayâs political environment offers voters plenty of impetus to look beyond our nationâs adversarial, two-party system. State and national polls show that voters are cranky, disgusted with dysfunctional government and nasty politics. In a December survey by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), 6 of 10 Californians saw the state moving in the wrong direction.
One of four Californiansâand only 16 percent of likely votersâapprove of the job the legislature is doing. (Governor Jerry Brown fares better, with 42 percent approval. Nationally, a recent Gallup Poll, puts President Obamaâs approval rating at 43 percent, while Congressâs rating is a record low 11 percent.)
One of 5 California voters is registered as independent or decline-to-state (up from 18.8 percent in 2007). Democratic registration growth has been anemic (44 percent, compared with 42.5 percent four years ago), and GOP registration has decreased (30.9 percent, down from 34.2 percent in 2007.).
These numbers suggest fruitful terrain for party realignment. Americans Elect may want to open up the electoral process, but, as with all âreforms,â there are consequences.
One could argue that Americans Electâs reliance on the internet makes it an âelitistâ party. In a state as diverse as California, lack of internet savvy and/or access can take seniors, poor people, and minorities out of the nomination equation.
Itâs ironic, too, that voter revulsion with government is more a function of disgust with legislative dysfunction than executive performance, yet Americans Elect does not address that problem.
Nationally, it could be a long time before Americans Electsâ strength is proven. To change Congress requires mobilization state by state and district by district.
The implementation of Californiaâs new âtop-twoâ primary could allow an early test. Will candidates filing for legislative and Congressional offices choose to list Americans Elect as their âparty preferenceâ on the ballot?â
Can these candidates, unlike those of Californiaâs long-established third parties, overcome the major partiesâ massive registration edge and make it into the November run-off?
The Golden State has once again become the Petri dish in which government reform is tested. And the momentum Americans Elect must marshal for real change may rest with the success or failure of this latest California experiment.
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