That's a great idea if the candidate has a viable shot at getting elected!

If a candidate doesn't have a real shot at winning, voting 3rd party can cause real harm

And has several times.

Let's say you vote for a 3rd party left candidate. That only takes votes away from the mainstream left candidate

This increases the chance that a right-leaning candidate will win without a majority.

This is a common misconception that 3rd party candidates push. It is not backed up by the data.

Parties shift with public sentiment, and craft platforms that they believe appeal to a majority of voters

The vote that shifts parties the most is in the primaries

This is where we vote our ideals, and tell the party that people like us exist

Both parties look very closely at the breakdown of votes in the primaries. Then they try to find common ground with as many voting blocks as possible

They are no angels to be sure. But they aren't these all-powerful cabals that control democracy

They are groups that coordinate messaging and resources for candidates who share a common platform. When we want progress, we pressure elected politicians, not the parties themselves.

If enough people think this, your state could become competitive/at risk

If enough people don't think this way, logging a vote in opposition won't send any message to the parties.

This is a serious accusation, and should be based in facts, not on a few social media posts combined with a frustration that our candidate didn't win

Claims of rigging have not been borne out by reality. Nor do political biases automatically equal rigging

Votes still decide the primaries, not the biases of career politicos. (Example: Bernie Sanders and the DNC) Additionally primaries have been improving in transparency and as issues are found, they are getting resolved

Revolution sounds radical, and feels like a stronger commitment to change than radical reform. But progress isn't guaranteed. Especially if there isn't majority support.

Until tearing things down causes less than the harm created by reforming a broken system, revolution cannot be justified. The risk must outweigh the cost

Things are not where they need to be, and we're moving far slower than we should to fix things. But progress is happening

While it is frustrating, it's important to realize that change has to happen at all levels

Changes should be done cautiously and methodically, which sometimes takes time

Getting things wrong at those levels can cause immense harm, even if well intended.

This might be the real impetus behind most 3rd party voters, and it's understandable!

Politics is frustrating, and complicated

It takes time to understand, and a lot of time and energy to make change happen.

Voting it still gives us a voice. At minimum it prevents things from getting massively worse

We should never see voting in presidential elections as our only civic duty

To see change, we have to be involved at every level we can be, both in government and outside of it

We have to be dedicated to advocating for, and working towards change, no matter how long it takes.

That includes protests, volunteering. It's studying public policy and political theories so that we can educate others

It's donating to nonprofits if we can, showing up for city council meetings, legislative days, town halls, etc.

Each of us doing what we can, when we can

That is the most effective way of effecting change in our current system.