According to Dean Crutchfield, writing in Forbes, technology may have finally made it possible for citizens to break into the two-party system and directly nominate a presidential candidate for 2012. “Obstacles remain, as there are laws that preserve the stability of the two-party system, such as single-member districts and restrictive ballots laws, and it’s always been tough to ink your name on the ballot without a major party,” Crutchfield pointed out.
Bypassing the Two-Party System
Americans Select is making an end-run around the obstacles that keep the two-party system entrenched and currently offers voters only Brand A or Brand B. When they have obtained 2.9 million signatures (they have over 1.7 million as of August 12, 2011) they can put a presidential candidate on the ballot in all 50 states. Besides offering another candidate, voters can select the questions the candidate must answer, and the issues which will be debated, since this candidate must be included in any presidential debates.
Choose Your Candidate Directly
Which candidate will be selected? That is entirely up to the people, and registered voters who are Republicans, Democrats, and Independents are welcome to participate. An online convention will be held at which the candidate will be chosen electronically. Elliot Ackerman, CEO of Americans Selects, said in an interview on Colbert Nation, “We’re leveraging our newest technologies to get us back to our oldest values-which is letting every voter participate.”
Sign Up and Sound Off
Ackerman, a decorated veteran, explained that voters can sign up at Americanselect.org and then express their opinions on pressing issues. So far the priorities Americans have selected, in order of importance to them, are the economy, education, energy, health care, foreign policy, social issues, and immigration. The site also provides instant feedback on how other voters answered each question. The American Selects site explains that, “The people will choose the issues. The people will choose the candidates. And in a secure, online convention next June, the people will make history by putting their choice on the ballot in every state.”
Breaking the Two-Party Monopoly
Thomas Friedman, writing in the New York Times, sums up the goal and potential impact of the process: “The goal of Americans Elect is to take a presidential nominating process now monopolized by the Republican and Democratic parties, which are beholden to their special interests, and blow it wide open — guaranteeing that a credible third choice, nominated independently, will not only be on the ballot in every state but be able to take part in every presidential debate and challenge both parties from the middle with the best ideas on how deal with the debt, education and jobs.”
According to Pew Research, quoted in the Los Angeles Times, 72 percent of Americans have nothing but disgust for the partisan politics displayed in the recent deficit debates. Perhaps their disgust will motivate the raging center to participate in the first-ever direct selection of a presidential candidate.
Dean Crutchfield, A New Century Brand, Forbes, August 8, 2011
Colbert Nation: Elliot Ackerman interview (video)
Thomas L. Freidman, Make Way for the Radical Center, New York Times, July 23, 2011
Michael Muskal, Poll finds Americans united in their disgust over debt-ceiling process, Los Angeles Times, August 1, 2011
