In the United States and most democracies, voters don’t primarily use elections to choose between competing ideologies or plans. First and foremost, voters use the ballot to depose those they think failed to govern efficiently. Elections are often a referendum on the party in power.

Tim F. wanted to know if they thought Elizabeth Warren would make a good third party candidate. Ellsberg said that Warren or Russ Feingold would probably not risk the wrath of the Democratic Party by running. He liked the idea of former Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson, but conceded that few knew who he was.

Michael Moore had two words: “Matt Damon.”

Which immediately drew a chorus of “here here’s” from the participants in chat. Moore said that it’s time we learned something from the GOP who understood there was value in running actors for office, and that if we were interested in winning rather than just making a statement, it was something we should consider.

In closing, Moore said that this was an important conversation to start having, and he thanked Dan and the FDL community for initiating it.

If you really want more bipartisanship, the only real solution is to promote more viable political parties.

Overall, 52 percent of Americans would like to add a third major political party, while only 40 percent feel Democrats and Republicans do an adequate job representing the American people, according to the latest Gallup poll. The interesting finding of this poll is that it found across the political spectrum, liberals, moderates and conservatives, all equally felt the need for more than the two parties.

This week, voters in the United Kingdom went to the polls and decided strongly against a referendum on switching federal elections to alternative voting, or “AV,” also known as “instant-runoff voting” (IRV).

The unfortunate consequence of a broken election system that discourages greater choice is that it can result in the election of individuals who don’t best represent the will of the voters. Politico is reporting that Democrats are banking on conservative third-party candidates on the ballot to help them win plurality victories.

The Hill has just become the most recent news outlet to find in their polling that a majority of voters want a viable third party as an alternative to the Republicans and Democrats. Their poll found that 54 percent of likely voters in 10 swing districts think there should be a third party. Their results mirror national polling from CNN (PDF) and Gallup, both of which also show majority support for a third party.

In the Massachusetts governor’s race, Independent candidate Tim Cahill’s running mate, Paul Loscocco, has withdrawn from the race and endorsed Republican Charlie Baker. Defection by one’s own running mate is rarely seen as good news for a campaign.

A large majority of Americans, 58 percent, believe that the country needs a third major party to adequately represent the American people, according to a new Gallup poll. Only 35 percent think the Democratic and Republican Parties do an adequate job representing the electorate.

Republican candidate Charles Djou won the HI-01 special election with 39.5% of the vote because two Democrats, Colleen Hanabusa with 30.8% and Ed Case with 27.6%, split the Democratic vote almost down the middle. This is a great example of how the design of our election laws can greatly affect our government; a poorly-designed electoral system like Hawaii’s can result in winners that don’t best represent the will of the electorate.