This election is just getting started and both sides seem disgruntled with their options. Still, I hear very little about third party options. It sounds like Gary Johnson of the Libertarians, has a very real chance of being included in the debates. Would you vote for a third party?
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Um, you need an option for no, never. I truly believe that voting for 3rd party candidates are essentially throwing your vote away.
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@ShootingStar: I updated it! I had accidentally made "no never" the title of the poll!
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Sure. As of now I'm not voting for anyone.
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No way. A third party candidate will never be elected the way our current system is set up, and I'm too afraid a lunatic could become our next president.
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I want my vote to count, so I will vote for a major party nominee. One day we may actually have more than two major parties where a third party candidate has a real chance of winning. Until then I will cast my vote for the lesser of two evils; that's how I feel about my options this election.
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I haven't 100% decided, but I'm really leaning towards a third party. I think that if a third candidate got 10% of the vote it would drastically affect the next election. Both parties would have to acknowledged the number of voters dissatisfied with them.
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I'm absolutely planning on voting for Johnson. I loathe the other 2 candidates and I am really hoping he will be included in the debates. I really dislike how I am forced each election to vote for "the lesser of 2 evils" in my opinion. There are many friends of mine who are looking into 3rd party options for this election because of who the candidates are. How else will we get rid of this 2 party system other than making our voice heard that we need more legitimate options! My MIL got super mad at my husband and I for even thinking about voting for someone not in the major parties. Isn't that why we vote? for our voices to be heard?
ETA: @JCCovi: Absolutely agree! Do I think Johnson will win this election? Probably not unless a miracle happens, but I'm extremely hopeful for upcoming elections if he does well!
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I'm a pretty hardcore Dem, so it's really unlikely. Don't want to say never, though.
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Definitely not this election. Too much at stake.
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No, I'm pretty solid on being a Democrat.
DH and his mom will most likely vote 3rd party, but they are republicans.
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I'm a pretty solid Democrat so I do not feel at all like this election is choosing between the lesser of two evils. I will proudly cast my vote for Hillary. However, if down the line, the Democratic party elects someone crazy or utterly disgusting, I will definitely vote third party. I don't believe that Trump really represents the Republican Party, and I imagine the same thing could end up happening to Democrats at some point. Parties shift.
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@ShootingStar: I don't think it's throwing your vote away. I think it's along a statement that while you realize your candidate is unlikely to be elected, you are vey dissatisfied with the major party candidates and refuse to vote for either. As opposed to just not voting because you dislike them both and it appearing as voter apathy.
That said, not this election I won't. I am not happy with my choices but I will certainly vote. DH is contemplating third party because he really hates both options (and I may have threatened to fill out an absentee ballot for him if he says he's voting trump...)
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@abbydabbydoodlebug: same here!
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I usually try to vote third party when I can...but it's not anything revolutionary. We usually have the Working Families Party on the ballot here -- and it's usually almost the same exact candidates on the ballot. I do it show support for a party outside of the big 2. If they are on the 2016 ballot for Hillary I will vote for them. If not, I'll vote Democrat.
I think for president, unfortunately, we choose the lesser of two evils. And it's the local, city, and state elections that we need to take a stand and perhaps vote third party or vote our hearts.
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In a local election; sure. In a presidential election where the next president will likely name multiple SC justices - hell no. Terrifying prospect.
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I am 99% sure I'll be voting third party so I voted yes. I feel like "right to vote" means the right to vote for who we each feel to be the best candidate; not to simply choose between the two big parties.
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No. I'm a democrat and unless something were to change I plan on voting democrat. I have voted for a few independents in local elections.
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I'm thinking about it, but I feel like there is too much at stake this election. I will likely vote for Hilary.
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THIS election? No, although technically I do not have a political party affiliation (I'm what's unenrolled in my state). I have always thought that there needs to be more than two political parties in the U.S. If this election cycle has shown anything, there needs to be more choice.
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Absolutely. The other two options are out of the question for me.
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Absolutely not in the election. I hate that I'm voting for someone I don't like or agree with. But Donald Trump is too terrifying.
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Way too much at stake this time.
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Nope! I'm a proud Democrat and will most likely always vote for the Democratic ticket unless they end up being a crazy person. I'll proudly be voting for Hillary in November.
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Everyone said Trump could never be a presidential candidate. I refuse to say a third party candidate could never get the votes they need to get into the debates in 4 years. I am voting Johnson, as are a group of my local friends. It's refreshing to see people who aren't afraid of taking a chance and looking for a change.
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My state is not even vaguely a swing state, so, I would consider it if there was a candidate on the ballot who represented my views more closely than Clinton. If I still lived in a swing state? No way!!
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Not for this presidential election...too much at stake.
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I voted no never but really I meant no never in this election. I am a moderate, but my views closely align with the Democratic Party. However, if there ever were a shift in the party's ideologies and leadership like we've seen in the Republican Party, I would be open to a third party.
That being said, there is too much at stake in this election, and I really think that if people want to see a third party grow and really take foot that will happen at the local and state elections before seriously being a contender at the national level. I also think that casting a third party vote has ramifications and can swing support to/away from major party candidates so I would have to take that into account. I think the party's platform is just as/if not more important that the candidate so I really try to closely examine the platform and not just write off a a party because of personal issues with the candidate. Except Donald Trump - I'm sorry, he's awful. I'm not really sorry though because ewww. Thought that about him long before he started this presidential campaign.
I'm just grateful to live in a democracy where I can exercise my right to vote!
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I've voted 3rd party before (for governor), but I always vote Democrat for presidential elections.
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I would if 1) my views aligned with theirs and 2) it wasn't risking an awful person becoming president...so this year is not the year for me to vote third party..
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I dont know how to vote. Im a pretty hard core Democrat and cant see myself not voting that way but obviously if their candidate was something I could absolutely not stomach then I reserve the right to change my mind but this election I am voting as I always do.
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@Mrs D: yes, exactly.
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@emilye519: "I really think that if people want to see a third party grow and really take foot that will happen at the local and state elections before seriously being a contender at the national level." <---Yes, I totally agree. If people want to create a viable third party, I'm going to need them to talk to me about it more than once every four years. It feels like presidential election season rolls around, and the third parties are like, "Oh, hey, I guess it's time to trot out our candidates and remind people they have another choice!" Then they have an abysmal showing on election day, it's quiet for three years and we start all over again. It all feels more like grandstanding than actually putting in effort to change our current two-party system.
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@mrsjazz: I do the same thing with the Working Families Party when they have Dems on their ticket
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20% of our respondents said they were going to or were thinking about it... That's a large percentage!
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Even if by some miracle Johnson or some other third party candidate got a majority of the popular vote, there's no way they would get a majority of the electoral college votes (this would mean that Trump and Clinton together would have to be less than half). If no candidate gets the majority of the electoral college, the house decides the president, with each state delegation casting one vote. Which means it would go to Trump, since there are more republican than dem states in the house. (Senate decides VP).
With our current electoral rules, there's just no way for a third party to be competitive. Bloomberg's "The Risk I will not Take" article on why he decided not to run for president is a good discussion of this https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-03-07/the-2016-election-risk-that-michael-bloomberg-won-t-take Short of amending the constitution, our electoral system just doesn't support more than two parties.
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Nope, big nope. Too much at stake. I don't want a bigoted reality TV star and demagogue to be President. I dream of the day Trump loses.
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@periwinklebee: Thank you for sharing this information. I think a lot of people are unaware of this. It isn't just R and D rhetoric to say we have a 2 party system. If we want to change that, (I think) change needs to come from the bottom up, not the top down with votes in a Presidential election but no reform of the systems, rules and laws behind the scenes, so to speak.
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@periwinklebee: I suspected that this would be the constraint, thank you for outlining it so clearly.
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@JCCovi: Ross Perot didn't change anything and he got nearly 19% of the popular vote.
@emilye519: & @MrsSCB: THIS. A viable third party needs to start at the local level rather than just making some noise every fourth year at the presidential election.
Personally, I've voted third party in the past when I lived in a very heavily red state where I knew it wouldn't hurt anything.
This election, I live in a swing state and I'm sure as hell not giving Trump a vote by voting third party.
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