In April 2023, New America, the Center for Ballot Freedom, Protect Democracy, Lyceum Labs, and Stanford University\u2019s Center for Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law convened a conference at Stanford University on the future of political parties in the United States. The conference, titled \u201cMore Parties, Better Parties,\u201d focused on the idea that U.S. democracy would benefit from stronger and more representative parties and that essential to that vision was opportunity for more parties beyond the current party duopoly to emerge. The essays in this collection, derived from papers prepared for the conference, trace the following argument: Parties are essential institutions in a democracy; there is an unjustified hostility to parties in much American political discourse; and fluid and overlapping coalitions of a multiparty system can improve governance and confidence. We then look at the promise of fusion voting, a practice once widespread and now prohibited in most states, which could allow new parties to gain a foothold by cross-endorsing candidates from established parties.<\/p>","":null,"drop_cap":false,"anchor_id":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_heading","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_heading":{"text":"Acknowledgments","level":"h3","":null,"anchor_id":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"add_background_color":false,"content":"
This report would not have been possible without the \u201cMore Parties, Better Parties\u201d conference organizing committee, which included Maresa Strano, Mark Schmitt, Lee Drutman, Oscar Pocasangre, Lizbeth Lucero, Didi Kuo, Beau Tremitiere, Daniel Stid, Dave Palmer, Dan Cantor, Joel Rogers, Nate Ela, and Micah Sifry.<\/p>
Many thanks also to Kelley Gardner, Jodi Narde, Joe Wilkes, Naomi Morduch Toubman, Simon Brown, and David Lanham for their communications and editorial support.<\/p>
Finally, we would like to thank Additional Ventures for their generous support of the \u201cMore Parties, Better Parties\u201d conference, Political Reform program at New America, and our research on multiparty democracy.<\/p>
Editorial disclosure: The views expressed in this report are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the views of New America, its staff, fellows, funders, or its board of directors.<\/i><\/p>","":null,"drop_cap":false,"anchor_id":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_boxed_links","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_boxed_links":{"heading":"Downloads","links":[{"title":"","description":"","link":{"title":"The Realistic Promise of Multiparty Democracy in the United States","url":"https:\/\/d1y8sb8igg2f8e.cloudfront.net\/documents\/The_Realistic_Promise_of_Multiparty_Democracy_in_the_United_States_2024-01-08__oXFiqST.pdf","target":"_blank"}}],"":null,"anchor_id":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_add_component","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_authors","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_authors":{"":null,"anchor_id":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_taxonomies","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_taxonomies":{"":null,"anchor_id":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_related","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_related":{"":null,"anchor_id":""}}]},"yoast_head":"\n