Anti-incumbency
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An anti-incumbent vote is one exercised against elected officials currently in power. It allows the voters to register their discontent with sitting government officials, particularly when protesting against certain actions taken by the government or the elected officials in question.
[edit] Anti-incumbency in America
When invoked against a disappointing government, it can take two forms:
- an in-party vote: when the voter votes for a challenger in the same party as the incumbent, usually in a Primary or Caucus election.
- a cross party vote: when the voter votes for the challenger from an opposing party to that of the incumbent.
As the process of re-electing incumbents has become highly professional and involving as much as a billion dollars in marketing and advertising in a Presidential election year, anti-incumbent voting has not been a mainstay in American politics. Re-election of incumbents in the U.S. Congress for example has ranged in recent past elections from 93.1% in 2006 to 98.7% in 2004[citation needed]. The anti-incumbent protest vote in 2006 was aimed primarily at just one party.
Organizations have periodically sprung up to influence the public to vote against incumbents, and nearly all are characterized by a plea to vote out ALL incumbents. THRO in the 1980's was one such short lived organization, Throw the Hypocritical Rascals Out. Another active now and in the 2006 elections and registered with the Federal Elections Commission is VOID, or Vote Out Incumbents Democracy[1].
VOID however, unlike THRO and other term limit and anti-incumbent movements, does not advocate voting out all incumbents; only those who voters decide for themselves are incompetent, ineffective, or corrupt. The fact that VOID is still active for more than one election cycle may reflect a growing anti-incumbent sentiment for the 2008 elections reflected by low approval ratings in the polls of both the President and members of Congress. Anti-incumbent voting may see an upsurge also in 2008 as a result of the growing throng of registered Independent voters, who in 2007 outnumber both registered Democrats and Republicans nationally.
no-incumbents.org[2] takes the position that Congress must be addressed as a whole and replaced until it functions on behalf of the American people. Trying to vote on purported issue differences has proven ineffective.
