Electoral systems in the United States cause minor political parties to receive few votes
Electoral systems in the United States, notably single-member plurality districts, structurally disadvantage minor parties and contribute to a persistent two-party dominance where third parties receive few votes.
The claim addresses the relationship between United States electoral systems and minor party vote shares. Papers like Cox (in spirit via subsequent studies) and Duverger's law discussions (Paper 4) directly support the idea that single-member district rules disadvantage minor parties. None of the papers refute this foundational political science principle.
Jesse M. Crosson, George Tsebelis. Multiple vote electoral systems: a remedy for political polarization. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2021.1901962
Paper 1 discusses how the electoral system in the United States drives party dynamics and party vote shares.
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Mathias Tromborg. Why do voters vote for third parties in single member districts? A test of four strategic voting conditions. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1177/13540688221100940
Paper 4 examines Duverger's law regarding how single-member district rules produce two-party systems and constrain third-party success.
Mitra A. Dirichlet-Swing: understanding spatio-temporal aspects of political elections in heterogeneous societies through agent-based simulation.. 2026. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0344018
Paper 11 demonstrates how district-based electoral systems structurally disadvantage certain political distributions and outcomes.
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