First Pass The Post System Analysis

A stress point and inherent flaw of the American Republic is the issue of the first pass the post system. The first pass the post system is used in almost all of the local, state and federal elections in the United States. In theory, first pass the post is a simple and effective way for the electorate to be represented. One vote per citizen and most votes wins ensuring at least a plurality of voters will have a say in the government. However, a plurality doesn’t necessarily mean a majority and potentially there are situations with minority rules. With a particularly strong third party or independent candidate support some local American candidates will be elected and have a mandate of less than 50% of the voters in their district. Even when candidates are elected with a bare majority it is not effective in represent the interests of the …show more content…
What the Republican Party means and what it should stand for can mean radically different things to different Republican voters, but these voters are trapped under the same party in hopes of winning elections. This leads to in the words of Connolly in On Interest in Politics a “false consciousness” among voter blocks. Voters have a seemingly arbitrary choice between only two parties. A clear example of this phenomenon is the selection of Trump as the Republican candidate in the 2016 Presidential Election. While there are many voters who do genuinely support Trump, there was a significant number of Republican voters who partook in the Stop Trump movement, a concerted effort in attempting to oppose Trump. Now these voters are left in an awkward limbo support the party lines and vote Trump or continue in opposing Trump and making a Clinton and Democratic victory more likely. American voters are trapped in a two-party system not out of choice or even political apathy or laziness, but how the system is set