How third-party candidates get edged out

+ police on college campuses US Edition - Today's top story: Third parties will affect the 2024 campaigns, but election laws written by Democrats and Republicans will prevent them from winning [View in browser]( US Edition | 2 May 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( For almost half my life, I lived in Maine, a state whose residents a colleague once described as “kindly anarchists.” There certainly was a cussed independence to Mainers, who showed that trait in 1992 when independent candidate Ross Perot had his best showing there in the presidential election, with 30.44% of the vote, behind Democrat Bill Clinton but ahead of Republican George H. W. Bush. Independent and third-party candidates have been part of U.S. elections for hundreds of years. “There was a time about a century ago when minor-party and independent candidates were [a prominent feature of the U.S. political system](,” writes Barry C. Burden, a political scientist and director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “While mostly limited to victories in state and local elections, they offered perspectives screened out by the Democrats and Republicans, on issues ranging from immigration to trade,” writes Burden. But “screened out by the Democrats and Republicans” took on new meaning over the course of the 20th century. “The two major parties have largely run minor-party competitors out of business in intentional ways,” Burden says. “Although a third party is not likely to have much electoral success anytime soon, they do enrich American politics,” writes Burden. Read his story to understand just how they do that. Also in this week’s politics news: - [Ways to reduce Black-on-Black crime]( - [The pattern for how famines form in Gaza and elsewhere]( - [Supreme Court telegraphed key questions in Trump immunity trial]( Naomi Schalit Senior Editor, Politics + Democracy Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks on March 30, 2024, in Los Angeles. Mario Tama/Getty Images [Third parties will affect the 2024 campaigns, but election laws written by Democrats and Republicans will prevent them from winning]( Barry C. Burden, University of Wisconsin-Madison The Democrats and Republicans try to keep them off the ballot. But third-party campaigns can inject new ideas and force major parties to incorporate a wider array of interests. NYPD police officers march onto Columbia University’s campus in New York City on April 30, 2024. Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images [Why universities turn to the police to end student protests − and why that can spiral out of control]( John J. Sloan III, University of Alabama at Birmingham While most colleges and universities have their own police units, some schools, like Columbia University, have only private security − and then can call in outside police when they feel it is needed. People carrying Palestinian flags and banners gather in front of the International Criminal Court on Oct. 18, 2023. Abdullah Asiran/Anadolu via Getty Images [International prosecution of Israeli or Hamas leaders wouldn’t bring quick justice − and even bringing them to court will be difficult]( Victor Peskin, Arizona State University Prosecuting leaders indicted for war crimes is difficult. But the trial of Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic in the early 2000s offers a potential playbook. [Trump trial reveals details about how the former president thinks about, and exploits, the media]( Karrin Vasby Anderson, Colorado State University; Tim Bakken, United States Military Academy West Point Courtroom drama is drawing attention to a broader subject: Donald Trump’s approach to the media. [US long-term care costs are sky-high, but Washington state’s new way to help pay for them could be nixed]( Marc Cohen, UMass Boston What happens in November 2024 could influence other states weighing their own options. [What students protesting Israel’s Gaza siege want − and how their demands on divestment fit into the BDS movement]( Mira Sucharov, Carleton University There’s been a concerted effort in Israel and the US to block this movement’s tactics and goals. [Columbia University protests look increasingly like those in 1968 as police storm campuses nationwide]( Stefan M. Bradley, Amherst College An expert on the Columbia University protests of 1968 draws parallels between protests then and the ones taking place there in 2024. - [What the Supreme Court is doing right in considering Trump’s immunity case]( Claire B. Wofford, College of Charleston Pundits decried the Supreme Court justices for not focusing on Donald Trump’s conduct when they heard oral arguments in Trump’s immunity case. But a legal scholar says they were just doing their job. - [Hate crimes laws passed in Washington have been remarkably ineffective in protecting LGBTQ people for decades]( Christopher Ewing, Purdue University Hate crime legislation is often touted as a progressive tool to end violence and champion inclusion. Its origins tell a more complicated story. - [To reduce Black-on-Black crime, two criminal justice experts explain why offering monthly stipends to people at risk makes sense]( Thaddeus L. Johnson, Georgia State University; Natasha N. Johnson, Georgia State University Research has shown that anti-gun violence programs have more success when they address root causes such as generational poverty, easy access to guns and a lack of affordable housing. - [Japan’s diplomatic charm offensive in US aims to keep Washington in committed relationship]( Mary M. McCarthy, Drake University Meetings with Joe Biden and Donald Trump suggest Japan is hedging over the outcome of the US election. - [How famines are formed: In Gaza and elsewhere, an underlying pattern that can lead to hunger and death]( Paul Howe, Tufts University In Gaza, Sudan, Haiti and elsewhere around the globe, famine affects increasing numbers of people. - - More of The Conversation Like this newsletter? 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