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bla essays The democracy we have in America today is very complex. This democracy starts out with political parties whose main purpose is to gain control of the government by winning elections Appelbaum and Chambliss(1997:366). In the United States, unlike in most other democracies, there are only two political parties with any substantial influence over government policies Appelbaum and Chambliss (1997:366). Third parties are also apparent in elections. These third parties are often successful in smaller elections, but when we are dealing with national elections it is very difficult for the third party to survive the bigger two due to the lack of funding and publicity of the PACs and other interest groups. However, third parties serve a very good purpose. They provide us with more candidates giving us more choices which is what democracy is about. According to my class notes (lecture on government) third parties are sometimes chosen when people are opposed to the candidates from the other two parties. Third parties stand as a sign of choice as well. Voting for a third party is also seen as voting for a better selection of candidates rather than voting for the usual two candidates from the other parties. The president of the United States is not chosen on the popular vote of the people alone but on the Electoral College whose vote is determined by the popular vote of each state Appelbaum and Chambliss (1997:367). This Electoral College is in a sense a vote of the people but at the same time it keeps bigger states from becoming to powerful overwhelming the smaller states. The United States also has three branches of government the legislative, judicial and executive branches. The constitution of the United States provides a system of checks and balances Appelbaum and Chambliss (1997:369). This system of checks and balances pu...