Introduction

What Is This 3rd Party Voting Blog?

This blog is dedicated to the question of whether it makes sense to vote for third party US presidential candidates.

More specifically, come this Election Day, will I do more good by voting for a major party (Democratic or Republican) or by voting for a third party (Green, Libertarian, Socialism and Liberty, etc.) with which my values may more closely align? In my case I define "doing good" more-or-less in keeping with what is called a liberal-progressive agenda.

For a list of subtopics see here.

Who's the Author? 

I am Missouri liberal whose ideal platform is generally left of the mainstream Democratic Party. I have voted for the Green Party in the past and continue to support 3^rd parties in various ways, including making donations and attending local rallies. That said, I do not currently intend to vote for them in the 2016 US presidential election.

I respect, admire, and like Hillary Clinton (I do not ask that you do) and broadly support her platform, but differ from her political beliefs on key issues like military intervention and defense spending. There are other platforms I like better, but none that have a statistically significant chance of winning this election.

I consider the two-party system deeply flawed and self-perpetuating, the Electoral College antiquated and the classical left-right dichotomy an oversimplification of a complex political landscape (topics for later posts). However, these systems are currently in place and their reality has to be taken into account.

Who's the Target Audience?

My target audience are others on the left who find themselves similarly caught between the Democratic Party, whose policies fall falls short of my ideal platform, and the far-left or non-spectrum 3^rd parties whose platforms are potentially more compelling, but who have statistically negligible chances of winning the presidential election.

If you are a conservative voter, you are, of course, free to read and comment on this site, but please be aware that this is not intended as a forum for left vs. right political debate. There are plenty of other spaces for that.

I also want to be clear that I am going into this project with a strong bias against 3^rd party voting. That said, I have changed my opinion before and could change it again based on the evidence. I am interested in pooling the arguments for the cases for and against so that voters confronting this question, including myself, can make an informed decision.