In the 2016 Presidential Election many people are saying that it's a "lose, lose situation." This mindset is making many members of the electorate turn to third party candidates for hope. I'm all for redefining the political two party system, and giving everyone more options, but this is a year where voting third party can be the worst thing that you've ever done.
The most popular third party candidate of 2016 is the Libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson. In a recent Real Clear Politics poll, Gary Johnson is polling at 8.4 percent, with Hillary at 43 percent, and Trump at 36.7 percent. With the margin of error, it is obvious that the race is still very tight between Democratic Nominee, Hillary Clinton and Republican Nominee, Donald Trump. Just simply with these numbers it is pretty much impossible for Gary Johnson to pull ahead as President.
The way our Constitution sets up elections in Article II of the Constitution also restricts the likelihood of any third party candidate of winning the Electoral College and becoming President, "Each State shall appoint...a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives...shall be appointed an Elector." This states how the Electoral College is built, who is a part of it, and how the votes are allocated.
The Twelfth Amendment states how a Presidential Candidate is to win the electoral college, "The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President." This means that as of 2016, a candidate must win 270 of the 538 electoral votes to become President or the vote will be left up to the House of Representatives, which is currently a Republican majority.
With all this being said, the point I'm trying to get across is that it's nearly impossible for Gary Johnson, or any third party candidate, to win and achieve 270 electoral votes. If Gary Johnson is able to achieve enough votes so that no candidate wins the electoral college then the House of Representatives will decide who our next President is. Their decision will definitely be Donald Trump.
As stated earlier, I'm all for giving third party candidates a strong chance, but not this year. Not in a year where every third party vote takes away from Hillary Clinton. Not in such a pivotal year. Don't vote third party in 2016, and the reason is: a vote for Gary Johnson is a vote for Donald Trump.
