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When we go to the polls, we want to cast our ballots in support of candidates and political parties that share our values and goals. Elections are a choice, and we want to be able to pick candidates who will work to pass policies we consider important. This is how we have a say in what our government does, and this is why political parties and their platforms matter.
Our electoral choices, unfortunately, are often fairly limited. For starters, there are a significant number of districts where candidates run unopposed, allowing voters to pick any politician they want as long as it is the one politician who appears on the ballot. In other places, whether due to gerrymandering or the fact that we voters tend to spread unevenly, the partisan advantage of one candidate is such that the election result is pretty much a given. In either case, who reaches office is largely determined in the primaries among party members, not in the general election in November.
The level of choice we have as voters, however, is not that much broader in competitive districts. Due to our single-member, first-past-the-post system, elections more often than not give us a choice between two viable candidates, each representing one of the two major parties, with nothing in between. For many people, that choice has become fairly discouraging.
For a long time, Americans have expressed their dissatisfaction with our two-party system. In poll after poll, a significant number of voters either say that a third party is needed or express disappointment in the choices at hand. Both Democrats and Republicans have managed to alienate a broad swath of their own supporters. An alternative might be necessary—and the good news is that here in Connecticut, we can and do have that alternative ready at hand.
Say, for instance, that I am a progressive who often supports Democrats, but I am somewhat disappointed by their approach to certain issues. Maybe I think the party has been too conservative on fiscal issues, embracing an austerity agenda that I believe leaves essential services underfunded. Maybe I believe that Democrats are not taking cost-of-living issues seriously and are letting suburban anti-housing interests dominate the agenda, causing housing prices to skyrocket. Maybe I take health care issues very seriously, and I want the party to embrace a public option to lower costs and extend coverage to immigrants.
In a two-way race, supporting a third-party candidate who backs these positions might divide the vote and allow a more conservative Republican to win, rather than a corporate Democrat who is closer in theory to my values. In Connecticut, however, there is a way to both cast a vote that supports those more progressive policies and avoid throwing the election to the other side. Thanks to fusion voting, candidates can appear on the ballot under more than one political party, so the hypothetical Democrat in my district could be running both as a Democrat and as a Working Families Party (WFP) candidate. By casting my vote on the WFP line, I am supporting them in the overall tally and sending a strong, explicit message that I am calling for a progressive, bold agenda.
Last week, we released our list of WFP-endorsed candidates; you can find it on our website. Each of the 84 people we endorsed submitted a questionnaire and shared their vision for Connecticut with us. We looked at their track record, discussed how we could work together, and talked about their goals and values. Our endorsement means they will appear on the ballot on Row C, as WFP candidates, as well as Democrats. Come election day, every voter who votes on Row C, the Working Families Party line, is sending a message that they want elected officials who govern as WFP candidates, not just Democrats—and that they need to go to Hartford with the goal of building a Connecticut for everyone, not just the privileged few.
Connecticut is too diverse and too complex to be represented by just two political parties. We need more voices, more opinions, and more ideas. We need lawmakers who listen to more people than the usual voices and interest groups around the two traditional parties. The good news is that we do have more than two parties in our state, and voters have a choice at the ballot box that goes beyond the usual two sides. If you are a progressive that wants Democrats to do more to create opportunity for all, support affordable housing and protect our freedoms you can demand them to do just by voting on Row C, starting with Senator Chris Murphy and down to any other candidate that has the WFP ballot line.
Enough of the two-party system. Time to embrace other options.