Do ya think that our real problem is participating/voting in what is now a broken system?
Whether the system is broke or not, to have a voice one must vote. My voice in 2016 was a resounding no vote for both major party candidates. One of 9 million such votes. I do think 2016 was a very unique election with two very unwanted candidates chosen by the major parties. If one goes by the favorable/unfavorable's of Trump 36/60 and Clinton 38/58 nationwide, you can see neither was wanted to become the next president. The problem is there really wasn't another choice for most voters to voice their disdain for both major party candidates.
The major parties have basically muted all other parties and independent voices. Financially wise, Hillary raised and spent 1.191 billion, Trump 646.8 million to all other third party and independent candidates 6 million dollars. All third party candidates were excluded from the debates, all media coverage was to the two major parties, for most voters they didn't realize those weren't the only two choices.
Now was 2016 a one off? Where both parties just happened to nominate their candidates that a majority of Americans disliked and didn't want? 2016 was the only election in our history where both candidates unfavorables were above 50% and both candidates favorables below 50%. Only one candidate up to 2016 had a favorable rating of below 50% and that was Barry Goldwater in 1964 at 43%. His unfavorable was 47%, way below both Trump and Clinton.
I think before we start tinkering with the system, we need to decide if 2016 was the rare exception to the rule of both parties providing good and acceptable candidates? That is acceptable and viewed positively by all Americans, not just their political party and avid supporters. Every major party presidential candidate from 1952 through 2012 had over a 50% positive rating with the lone exception of Barry Goldwater. 2016 broke that string with two candidates viewed positive/favorably by only 36 and 38%. I do have some suggestions to improve things, to give the voters more choices in a realistic fashion which doesn't tinker with the system much at all.
Perhaps the problem is both major parties are shrinking, they are representing less and less people or a percentage of the electorate. More and more people are leaving them as both parties move further and further left and right leaving the average American without a political party to call home. Isn't it interesting that in 2006 70% of the electorate identified themselves with the two major parties, today, 2020, that is down to 60%. Both major parties have shed their more moderate factions retaining their hard core leftist and rightist.
Perhaps this has more to do with the messed up system than the system itself.
