Voters look for more options

For graduate student Kevin Makice, neither Republican President George W. Bush nor Democratic candidate Sen. John Kerry present good choices for the presidency. For this reason, Makice is a strong supporter of third parties. \n"I'm not voting for Bush because he's a horrible president," he said. "I don't have any confidence in John Kerry, either."\nThough the strongest presidential candidate outside of Bush and Kerry, Independent Ralph Nader only has between 0 and 1 percent support, according recent polls posted on the Real Clear Politics Web site, there are still voters who see room for more candidates than those the Republicans and Democrats present.\nThird party and independent candidates in the United States at the presidential level are not necessarily in the campaign to win the office, but more to influence the policies of the two major party candidates, said Mike Wagner a political science associate instructor. \nRudy Professor of Political Science Edward Carmines said third parties predominantly exist to address issues that other candidates don't.\n"Their role has been to introduce new ideas and issues into American politics."\nNader hopes to shed light on a collection of such issues, said John Broze, a regional coordinator for the Nader campaign. \n"(Nader) is not just running to win, he's running to expose the issues the candidates aren't talking about," he said. \nThe primary issues for Nader are the institution of a living wage -- $8.15 per hour, universal health care, no federal income tax for low income families and a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, Broze said. \nHe said accusations that third party candidates and others like Nader steal votes from the Democratic party are bogus.\n"The only person that is going to take the elections away from John Kerry is John Kerry," Broze said.\nHe also said Nader mobilizes people who normally wouldn't vote at all. \nCarmines said he doubts Nader will impact the outcome of the election this year. Much of his voting base, who would rather see a more liberal candidate in office than Bush, are afraid to vote for a third party or independent candidate. In the 2000 election, the 1 to 2 percent of the vote Nader got in Florida may have been a factor that allowed Bush to win the state.\n"I ultimately think Nader may have an impact, but this has been an odd year because of the experience of 2000," he said.\nNader is only on the ballot in 35 states this year and did not make it on to the Indiana ballot, according to the candidate's Web site. \nDespite this, there is room in America for third parties and independent candidates said Brain Vargus, a professor of political science at IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis.\n"They have the freedom to advance these new ideas," he said. "They frequently run on something that is a very strange idea but, later on it gets incorporated."\nVargus said minimum wage, an eight-hour day and social security were all first introduced by third parties. \nSophomore Matt Beck, IU's campus coordinator for the Nader campaign agrees. \n"We need some sort of third-party representation," he said. "With the two party duopoly, many voices aren't being heard."\nBut Wagner defended America's two-party system, which provides clear differences for voters, he said.\nThe Secretary of State race of the previous election is a big determining factor for which parties get on the presidential ballot in Indiana, said Dale Simmons, co-general counsel of the Indiana Election Division. \nHe said any political party which receives more than 2 percent of the popular vote in the Secretary of State elections automatically gets the name of the candidate they select on the ballot. \nFor this election cycle in Indiana, the Democratic, Republican and Libertarian parties all have a candidate on the ballot.\nIndependent candidates and parties that get less than 2 percent of the vote in the Secretary of State elections must collect signatures totaling 2 percent of all the votes cast in the Secretary of State elections. Simmons said this year that is 29,552 signatures. \nThree candidates will appear on the Indiana presidential ballot: Bush, Kerry and Libertarian Michael Badnarik. \nCandidates who don't collect the required signatures can submit a declaration of candidacy, which will make them write-in candidates. Voters who write in the names of a declared write-in candidate will be counted; other write-in votes will not be counted.\n"We've seen some pretty funny write-in votes," Simmons said. "People have voted for Mickey Mouse, Frank Zappa and Jeb Bartlet."\n The only counted write-in votes for president this year are Independents Lawson Mitchell Bone and Ralph Nader, David Cobb of the Green Party, Walt Brown of the Socialist Party, and John Joseph Kennedy, listed as Democrat but not endorsed by the party. \nMakice's vote, which will actually be a write-in for California congresswoman Barbra Lee, will not be counted. But, for him the idea that he is not contributing to the two-party system is enough.\n"Whether my vote counts or not is irrelevant," he said. "I have a commitment to myself and my family to vote for someone who I think will be good for the country."\n-- Contact Nation & World editor Michael Zennie at mzennie@indiana.edu.