Question

Read the following passage: If you finish second or third, you're out of luck. This isn't one of those proportional systems were 10 percent of the vote gets your party 10 percent of the seats in the legislature. You need a really strong showing to stay in power, and that's why the two big parties stay around. Which factor supporting the two-party system does the passage describe? A. Majority rule B. Campaign laws C. Winner-takes-all elections D. Voter loyalty

Answer 1

In the passage, the factor supporting the two-party system is winner-takes-all elections (C).

In the United States, 48 states and the District of Columbia have the winner-takes-all rule for the Electoral College. In these states, whichever canidate recieves a majority of the votes or the candidate that has less than 50% of the votes, but still more than any other candidate, takes all of the Electoral votes. This means that if someone got 10% of the votes, they wouldn't be represented in the Electoral College.