A few years ago, I took an online quiz that helped to determine which political party was closest to my views. My positions were closest to the Green Party at around 98% followed by the Democratic Party at around 90%. I did a little research and found that the Green Party has a list of Ten Key Values. These are:
- Grassroots Democracy
- Social Justice & Equal Opportunity
- Ecological Wisdom
- Non-Violence
- Decentralization
- Community-Based Economics
- Feminism & Gender Equity
- Respect for Diversity
- Personal & Global Responsibility
- Future Focus & Sustainability
Their party platform also has four pillars: Peace, Ecology, Social Justice, and Democracy.
Sign me up!
One problem though. Unlike other developed nations that have parliamentary systems with proportional representation, the United States has a two-party winner-take-all system. So instead of voting for a party that is closest to my values, I end up aligning myself with a party that represents most of my values.
When there is a Green candidate on the ballot, I will vote for them as long as it won’t harm the better candidate of the two major parties. The Green Party acted as a spoiler in two close presidential elections: 2000 and 2016.
In New York state, the Green Party used to get automatic ballot status for four years if their candidate received 50,000 votes in the gubernatorial election. Last year, New York changed its election laws so that a party needs to garner 130,000 votes of 2% of the total votes cast, which ever is higher, to remain on the ballot.
So for now, New Yorkers will have less choice in the voting booth.
Equity - Environment - Economic Justice 