The Effect of Third Party Candidates in Presidetial Elections

many different offices at the national, state, and local levels, the election of

the president of the United States every four years is the focal point of the

American political process. The American political system has maintained a two-

party system since its inception. Political scientists argue that a two-party

system is the most stable and efficient means of running a democratic nation as

a mono-party system leads toward tyranny, and a multi-party system creates over-diversification and gridlock (Mazmanian 6). The Constitution of the United

States does not in any way limit the structure of the political system to two

parties. In fact, there has been no presidential election where there were only

two candidates; however, third-party candidates are rarely represented in a

majority of the states, and those that were on the ballot in a majority of

states have never been successful. However, on a few occasions, third party

candidates have been able to make a significant impact on the presidential

election process such as George Wallace in 1968 and H. Ross Perot in 1992.

Through the nineteenth century there was little deviation from the tradition

George Wallace, independent candidate of the newly formed American

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