Vote splitting: Difference between revisions
Remove merge tag, add heading, expand on plurality-runoff systems
Psephomancy (talk | contribs) m (Psephomancy moved page Split vote to Vote splitting: Wikipedia has the same distinction) |
Psephomancy (talk | contribs) (Remove merge tag, add heading, expand on plurality-runoff systems) |
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{{Wikipedia}}
A '''split vote''', or '''vote splitting''', occurs in an [[election]] when the existence of two or more [[candidate]]s that represent relatively similar viewpoints among voters reduces the [[vote|votes]] received by each of them, reducing the chances of any one of them winning against another candidate, who represents a significantly different viewpoint. These can lead to a candidate that represents the viewpoints of a minority of voters winning.
Vote splitting as an issue is
== Examples ==
In the United States, a famous example of a split vote occurred in the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election when Green Party candidate Ralph Nader attracted voters who might otherwise have voted for Democratic Party candidate Al Gore because of the similar [[liberal]] platforms of both candidates. Because of the very narrow margin of victory of Republican Party candidate George W. Bush over Gore, many blamed Nader's candidacy for causing his loss and thus being a [[spoiler effect|spoiler]] (although the votes that went to the eighth-place candidate in the contested state of Florida could have potentially covered the split).
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In modern day Canadian politics, the Reform Party and the Progressive Conservatives have now merged into the united Conservative Party of Canada, and have been in power since 2006. The left wing now faces the same vote splitting that plagued the right, with the four left wing parties being the Liberals, New Democrats, The Bloc Quebecois and the Green Party. In the past two election cycles (2008, 2011) there have been efforts among left wing voters to vote strategically to defeat conservative candidates.
[[Category:Voting theory]]
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