The 2016 presidential race has been one of the most turbulent, scandalous and utterly ridiculous elections in the history of our nation. Between Hillary Clinton's notorious emails, Donald Trump's anti-immigration banter and both candidates' love for slandering each other, it is no wonder why the country remains conflicted with less than a month left before the election.
In the past month alone, both candidates have dug hefty holes for themselves. Just last week, audio recording leaked of Trump making light of the sexual assault of women while behind the scenes of "Access Hollywood" in 2005. Republicans have been scrambling to do damage control on every media outlet for days, while they condemn his statements and deem him unfit to be president. Few can deny that Trump's entire campaign has been fueled by inflammatory, controversial ideologies.
Clinton has been far from innocent as well. The entirety of her campaign has been overshadowed by a history of suspicious and possible criminal acts that took place while she was Secretary of State. Trump coined the term "crooked Hillary" in her honor, and the Republican party has been having a field day with threats of throwing her in jail.
This election has been as chaotic as they come. I get it. The appeal that some have to third party candidates is completely understandable.
Neither of the major parties has my best interests in mind. Why would I not vote for someone I can trust?
Of course, this logic makes sense in the short term. You don't want to vote for Hillary and you don't want to vote for Trump. Find someone you do want to vote for and stick to your beliefs. What's wrong with that? However, in the long run, voting for a third party is basically a waste of time.
As much I would love to see someone as intelligent and progressive as Jill Stein occupying the White House, I know that's just not going to happen. The scary and unfortunate truth is that a vote for a third party candidate is essentially a vote wasted. Even worse than that, a third party vote is a vote that increases the chances of victory for a major party candidate - and most likely the one you definitely don't want to win.
It all boils down to the fact that one of two people is going to win the election this November - Trump or Clinton. It doesn't matter if you don't particularly care for either of them.
It doesn't matter if you think a third party is better qualified.
It doesn't matter if you haven't even been following the election this entire time.
One of them is going to be our president, and if you want any say in the future and well-being of our country, you need to cast a vote on Nov. 8.
