Would it help or hurt

[Jazzy]

Would it help or hurt democracy by not putting the candidates party affiliation next to their name? Why?

 

[1689Dave]

Would it help or hurt democracy by not putting the candidates party affiliation next to their name? Why?

Would you go shopping if everything you bought was unlabeled? Yikes!

 

[Lamb]

Sometimes I have to look for their label to know because they refuse to expound on what they stand for on certain things. When they hide it I know they're trying to sneak a vote.

It's like the Baptists removing Baptist from their church name because they don't want people to think they're Baptist.

 

[tango]

Would it help or hurt democracy by not putting the candidates party affiliation next to their name? Why?

I think it should go further - I think that a voter should select a candidate and then have to select a few of that candidate's major political stances. If the voter gets that wrong their vote doesn't count.

The idea is to make sure people actually know what they are supporting rather than simply voting straight party ticket without even thinking about who or what they are supporting.

It would need to be major positions - for example if you didn't know that Beto O'Rourke is opposed to AR15s or that Donald Trump wants to build a border wall then you're probably not voting from a position of considering which candidate best reflects your views.

 

[Albion]

Would it help or hurt democracy by not putting the candidates party affiliation next to their name? Why?

It probably wouldn't make too much difference.

It's the policy in many states right now not to identify the party affiliation on the ballot next to the names of certain candidates. Judges, for example. But it's no secret which party they are affiliated with, and that is publicized quite openly in various ways.

Just the same, I notice that in these races the candidates OTHER THAN the ones backed by the 'big two' parties tend to do a little bit better, but only a little.

And the reason for that is probably just that the many people who vote "straight party" have to make a separate and additional decision in the case of these "non-partisan" offices.