I had just come from voting & was wondering what you guys thought of the effectiveness (if any) of voting for a major party candidate, but on the ticket of one of the smaller party's they are representing & not on their main party ticket? (for example: Bush on the Conservative Party ticket instead of Republican, or Kerry on the Liberal Party ticket instead of Democrat...)
In a connected question, are votes counted simply by the candidate's name or are they counted by party also?
This is pretty much a strictly New York based thing (cross-endorsement). Smaller parties will endorse major candidates, with the idea being two-fold
a) people who wouldn't ordinarily vote for Republican but like the candidate will vote for them on the "Liberal" (or whatever) line. This is basically what got Guiliani elected the first time.
b) endorsing a major candidate instead of whatever schmoe gets you more votes for your party. For instance - if Bush or Kerry were running on the Libertarian line instead of Badnarik, the Libertarians would probaby get a lot more votes. Getting votes on your line leads to easier ballot access (if you get 50,000+ statewide on your line in the main race - Gov. or Pres. - you don't have to collect signitures next cycle), as well as ballot position. The top vote getter from two years ago gets the top position, second-highest vote getter gets second position, etc. The proven ability to get votes on your line also helps you build organizational and political clout.
So basically, what you should do is pick the candidate you want to win, and then vote for them on the line of the party that you like the most. For instance, I want to vote for John Kerry. I can vote for him on the Democrat, Liberal, or Working Family line. Out of those three parties, I don't really like the Dems, I hate the Liberals, but I do like the Working Families party, so I'll vote for him on the W.F. line. Bush (I think) is runnning on the GOP, Conservative, Constitution, and Right-To-Life parties.
Man's most valuable trait is a judicious sense of what not to believe. - Euripides
I know what you mean Von Maestro this was my first time voting in CT and I thought the ballot looked empty compared to the ones in NY. I can't imagine what the california ones look like with all the pro's on there.
As for where Ross Perot went, he showed that a well-funded campaign, no matter how insane the man running it, can make an impact. 19% of the vote in 1992 went to him, which is a mighty strong amount for an indie candidate, most since TR in 1912.