Net Gain for 3rd Parties

Four years ago, Al Snook never would have run. He was a “common man” who didn’t have the money or desire to claw his way through what he calls an alienating political process. And so he stayed out of it, figuring his third-party message never would be heard beyond the walls of his humble Garden Grove house.

But this year, as it has been for scores of other third-party candidates, the Internet’s cheap and easy access has made him a player. With $300 in his wallet and a Reform Party Web site, “I have got a real slim chance,” he says.

Snook, running for Orange County’s 68th Assembly District seat, is part of a bigger-than-ever pool of third-party candidates that will appear on Election Day ballots Tuesday. Their ranks have doubled and tripled in the last two years, unprecedented spikes that political experts, party leaders and local and state election officials attribute to the World Wide Web.

Still relegated to fringe status, third-party campaigns have yet to master the art of raising the funds needed to launch television commercials and glossy mailers. So instead, they have latched on to the power of the Internet as a way to get their message across.

Convinced that Americans are looking for something different, third-party candidates rely on snazzy Web sites to detail their political platforms. They send out mass e-mails with a few keyboard clicks. They make widespread use of political chat rooms to spread the word. And collecting the signatures needed to ensure a place on the ballot is far easier with the help of the Web.

It helps third-party groups do their best to compete with mainstream Republicans and Democrats by making the possibility of political life more realistic--and less costly--to the common person, candidate data shows.

“It allows us to move away from the idea of the professional politician; the housewife can click on the tab ‘Become a Candidate,’ ” said Robert Roth, press secretary for the Natural Law Party in Fairfield, Iowa.

Gerry Moan, vice chair of the Reform Party USA, agreed: “You still have to gather signatures to get on the ballot, but you can put up a Web site in a couple of hours and save thousands of dollars. It really opens up the process.”

The Natural Law Party boasts some of the most dramatic increases. There are 1,200 candidates nationwide, a threefold increase compared with the 1996 roster. The Libertarian Party now has 1,700 candidates, a twofold increase over the same period. Others, such as the Constitution Party, the Green Party and the Reform Party, show similar increases.

The same is true on the local level. This year in Orange County, candidates--not including those in city and county races--from five major third parties increased from 19 in 1996 to the 28 who will appear on Tuesday’s primary ballot. Those candidates will automatically win a spot on the November ballot because they are not being challenged.

Across California over the same period, the numbers increased from 169 third-party candidates to 218 hopefuls.

It is among the first--albeit unscientific--evidence that the Internet is living up to its bill of being a great democratic liberator, experts say.

But some caution that the glut of candidates could confuse voters accustomed to a two-party system and streamlined ballots. It could outweigh the advantage of offering more voter choice by just giving voters another excuse to stay home on Election Day.

“We are seeing there are a lot of people who wouldn’t normally run . . . running for some kind of office,” said Steve Smith, a University of Minnesota professor of political science who studies the Web and politics, “which, of course, is wonderful for voters who want choice, [but] you don’t want to dilute the process either.”

Even voters who say they know the issues and the candidates think the number of would-be politicians is daunting.

“It’s overwhelming. When I talk with my friends, it’s confusing to us,” Garden Grove resident Maria Lewis said.

It remains to be seen whether opening the process up to the “common folks” will help candidates win elections.

As it stands, studies have shown that the array of political information available on the Internet has done nothing to boost voter turnout or voter interest. With this election cycle being the first to truly harness the power of the Internet, what with candidates’ Web sites, such as John McCain’s, commonplace, experts are closely watching turnout figures.

To be sure, there are other reasons for an increase in the number of candidates. Chiefly, third- and fourth-party candidates are naturally growing. Nevertheless, the World Wide Web is undeniably the biggest factor in increasing the overall number of candidates, said James Danziger, a UC Irvine professor of political science who studies new technologies and information.

Parties say as much as 40% of new candidates arrive via the Internet.

But the rapid-fire online recruiting of candidates raises questions, outside and inside parties, about whether the takers ultimately hurt party platforms that already struggle with an identity problem.

Bruce Bimber, a professor of political science and director of the Center for Information Technology and Society at UC Santa Barbara, said, “Being a player requires less than it did five years ago. . . . That, of course, means we’ll see an increase in nonserious as well as serious candidates from the periphery.”

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Candidates are lured by promises that the party and the inexpensive nature of a Web campaign offer a more viable candidacy. They make it sound attractive by saying, “Look at Jesse Ventura,” the Reform Party candidate who was elected governor of Minnesota with the muscle of the World Wide Web. And they make it easy: At the Natural Law Party’s Web site, hopefuls can point and click on “Become a Candidate” and fill out a form to start the process.

Party leaders say they must screen candidates carefully, afraid of eccentrics who would do damage to their platform. But ultimately, leaders are heartened by the bigger pool the Web offers.

The biggest challenge facing third-party candidates is money, and that’s where the Internet provides the biggest boost.

Snook, the Garden Grove Reform Party candidate, said he always has been put off by a system that requires raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to put out glossy fliers that are zoned to specific voters.

“The Web takes most of that away,” Snook said. “I have $300 and I have access to everybody. . . . Running is much more feasible.”

Some candidates are making do with even less money. Keith Gann, a Cypress engineer and the Libertarian candidate running for the 39th Congressional District seat, said his campaign uses a free Web site service and free Yahoo e-mail.

“I wouldn’t be in this at all without the Internet,” he said.

Some say many of the new candidates, however large their numbers, aren’t considered viable, says Eileen Padberg, an Irvine-based political consultant.

“Politics is a contact sport,” Padberg said. “[The Web] is the lazy man’s way to campaign. . . . I say to those candidates: You’re not running to win. If they feel comforted they can campaign via Internet, then great, but the reality is it doesn’t make a difference.”

Often, candidates are frank about their slim chances in what still is a two-party system. But planting the seed of a message is enough for the time being.

The die-hard believers say winning isn’t everything.

Rob Wilson of Davis, who is spending $15 a month on a Web site to campaign for the state Assembly’s 8th District seat, said his Natural Law Party message is almost as important as his candidacy.

“It boils down to this: No political party has a monopoly on all the good ideas out there,” Wilson said. “I feel like I have a chance in this race. I’m part of the discussion.”