Candidate lists for the upcoming California governor’s race offer ample options for student voters who are disenchanted with both the Republican and Democratic parties.

Out of 20 candidates, five are from third parties. While the presence of third-party candidates may seem like evidence that diverse voices are being represented and the electoral system is open to all, those candidates face monumental uphill battles.

Third-party candidates face issues of access, exposure and the “spoiler” image.
“A lot of people perceive us as taking votes from the Democrats,” said San Francisco Green Party representative Erika McDonald. “If it’s going to be a close election, people assume that if you vote Green, the Republicans are going to win.”
Despite this perception, the political climate in California may be primed for a popular third-party candidate.

While the percentage of registered Democrats and Republicans continues to drop, the ‘decline to state’ percentage has risen to 18.2 percent statewide, up from 8.9 percent in 1990. In San Francisco, the percentage is up to 28.5 percent.

“We view this as a good thing. It is definitely better for us than having them registered Democrat or Republican,” said McDonald from the Green Party. “But we need to do more to reach out to them.”
SF State student Chris Robison voted for the Nader/Camejo Green Party ticket in 2000 because he wants alternative parties to have enough votes to maintain ballot access.

“Everything is either Democrat or Republican,” said Robison, a 33-year-old majoring in math. “If the public were exposed to other ideas, maybe they would realize that there are other things out there.”
Aside from Republicans and Democrats, the 2006 gubernatorial race includes candidates from the Peace and Freedom Party, the American Independent Party, the Libertarian Party and the Green Party.
These parties address both broad issues like social justice, environmental stewardship and the right to privacy, and more specific issues like repealing the federal income tax, garaunteeing free public education through college and supporting same-sex marriage.
One important role that third party candidates play is helping to increase accountability.

“The way we hold people accountable is by being able to vote them out of office,” said McDonald.

A problem arises when there are only two parties vying for every seat, according to McDonald. If most of the voters in an area are liberal or conservative, the voters are left with only one choice and that party becomes entrenched.

“What do you do if you are fed up with Nancy Pelosi?” asked McDonald. “There is never going to be a Republican elected by San Francisco.”

Ryan Vance, a 21-year-old broadcast major, addresses the acountability issue by registering independent.

“We’re not buying into Democratic or Republican ideas,” said Vance. He added that he is generally displeased with how both major parties choose to operate.

Ernesto Lira has taken a different approach.

Disgusted by the 2000 presidential election Lira, a 65-year-old criminal justice major, decided to take a break form voting.

“They all sing the same tune,” said Lira, who wants more third-party and female candidates elected. “Get somebody up there with some common sense.”

Electoral system reform is one way to address these problems of accountability and disenfranchisement.

Ranked choice voting, such as is used in San Francisco’s municipal races, is one option that has been gaining momentum across the country.

“By ranking candidates, you can vote for who you want, regardless of whether you think they are going to win,” said Ryan O’Donnell, at-large representative for FairVote, which advocates for electoral reform. “Certainly it encourages turnout and makes the voters feel empowered.”

O’Donnell added that ranked-choice voting can save money by avoiding the need for costly run-off elections.

“We should be thinking about the principles that are important to our democracy and those include majority rule and accountability,” O’Donnell said.

Earlier this month, Burlington Vermont held their first-ranked choice election for mayor. After a close race and an instant run-off based on voters’ rankings, a progressive candidate, Bob Kiss, won the majority.

According to Steven Hill, political reform director for the New America Foundation, local reforms are a steppingstone toward the goal of statewide ranked-choice elections.