Do you think America needs a third major political party?

Yes (62%) – "We've needed a viable third party for many years now. Our founders would be turning over in their graves if they could see how what used to be the farmer/statesmen have become career politicians. They never meant for people to go to Washington, stay for the rest of their lives, and get rich on the backs of the people they are supposed to represent. We need representatives who truly work for their constituents instead of enriching themselves and voting for perks from which only they benefit."

• "We absolutely need a third party. There is no party that represents the "middle America," people who are moderate. I think most Americans have similar ideologies to myself, a little more liberal socially; a little more conservative fiscally. In recent years, each party is run by extreme fringe groups, who in my opinion, represent a very small population of Americans. Everyone I know feels the same as I do. Please bring back moderation. We need it desperately."

"The partisan deadlock in America will kill us. I'm so old I remember the days of "working across the aisle" and it actually meant something. There is no chance of that these days. My only concern is that the 3rd party will only be a spoiler party, akin to the Green party. If it can be a viable contribution to the government, I'd be for it. Elon Musk being in charge? Not so much."

• "A two-party political system often means (a) that the government faces a deadlock on issues/bills, and (b) that the diverse voices and opinions of citizens are not being fairly represented in government. So yes, I think that the USA needs more than two significant parties, each operating on the state and federal levels, in order to have more proportional representation."

"The two party system has been broken for decades, and both parties are utter contradictions to themselves and their founding ideals . While I don’t think his party is necessarily the answer, we need more viable options to keep the government actually functioning for the people and not just interest groups and oligarchs."

• "Both parties have lost their direction. We need new and improved party that have a future vision for all American citizens and not just for one party only. Stop dividing us, so we can continue to work together to compete and lead in the world's technology and science."

No (23%) – "While I generally support Musk and most of the things he stands for, I don't understand the rift between he and Trump, and definitely dont' think we need a third political party. The party system in general isn't perfect, but it does support a functional structure in government. The danger with third parties in general is it could lead to 'minority rule' - if that ever had a chance at happening, it would be with Elon leading a third party. Historical attempts at establishing third parties have failed and it takes away voter influence by splitting votes. I think there are ways to make our current structure better, but a third party isn't the answer."

• "There’s no need for a third party. We need a better way to defend American democracy. More is not always better. There are countless examples of countries with 3 or more political parties and their democracy is not better, on the contrary."

Unsure/other (15%) – "While I think we need more choice, one more party will not suffice. I would much prefer a proportional system of voting to allow several (i.e., more than three) parties to exist. Proportional voting, and ranked-choice voting would quite possibly remove much of the rancor we see now in present day elections."

""Need" isn't really the point -- I think we'd be better off with more parties, but like the newsletter said, the country's electoral system doesn't really let that happen. If we want more parties, then we need massive structural change to the national governing system (though state reforms like ranked choice voting and open primaries can improve third party chances on a local level). Without that change, any vote for a third party candidate on a national level is a vote wasted."