Reasons Not to Vote for a Third Party Candidate (Gettysburg Times op-ed)

The Republican and Democratic nominations are almost set. Joe Biden and Donald Trump are the two presumptive candidates. Yet according to polls, many Americans are not happy about these two choices. For those who do not like either candidate, some voters say they may consider voting for a third-party candidate. While that is everyone’s right as an American citizen, there are at least five reasons you may want to reconsider that decision no matter what you think of the presumed nominees.

The United States has a strong tradition of a two-party system. Unlike many European countries, we do not have coalition governments. We do not cobble together many party factions to create a governing coalition. Instead, we have two parties, and either the Republican or Democratic candidate will win the Presidency. If you want to be part of that decision making process, you choose between them. It may not be the system you want, but it is the one we have.

Second, no third Party has even won a Presidential election. The vast majority do not win any counties, legislative districts, or states. Ross Perot received 18% of the vote in 1992, but did not win a single electoral vote. The last time a third-party candidate received an electoral vote was the Libertarian Party in 1972. The Party received just one electoral vote. The fact is third Parties not only do not win elections; they are not even competitive.

Third, third-party candidates may have large egos and notions of grandeur, but usually they are unqualified to be President. They do not have the broad knowledge, skills, and abilities to take on arguably the toughest job in the world. Often third-party candidates focus on single issues. This year independent candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. is running on an anti-vaccine platform. Jill Stein of the Green Party is focused on single payer health care. Cornell West of the Justice for All Party is running on racial justice issues. None of them has had extensive experience in government or foreign policy. So, the question is: Do you really want these people running our country?

Fourth, what do we really know about third party candidates? Our Democratic and Republican candidates are vetted and tested thoroughly through the press and a grueling primary process. That is not the case for third party candidates. There is no vetting and no transparency. We are left with questions like who is this person? Where do they stand on issues, and why are they running for office? We also know little about who is funding their candidacies, and where the money goes. Here are two examples. Timothy Mellon, an extreme right-wing donor, has donated at least $25 million to Robert Kennedy Jr’s campaign. Why would he fund a supposedly liberal candidate like Robert Kennedy Jr? Also, Jill Stein has been accused of misappropriating taxpayer supported campaign funds in her 2016 bid for the Presidency.

Fifth, voting for a third-party candidate can get tricky. Some liberal leaning voters in Florida in 2000 voted for Green Party candidate Ralph Nader instead of the Democratic candidate Al Gore. Nader received over 97,000 votes in Florida and because of that, George W. Bush won Florida by 537 votes and became President. President Bush then ushered in two of the longest wars in America’s history and engineered three tax cuts for our wealthiest citizens.

Those Nader voters probably would not have agreed with those policies and must have surely regretted their votes.

Third party candidates are not going to win. They may not even be on the ballot in many states. And their positions on many issues may be unknown. Yet many say that voters want more alternatives. But having more alternatives may well cement the election of the candidate voters least want.

Every election is important, but this one is so critical because of the existential threat to our democratic system of government. The polls show an extremely tight race. Every vote will count this year. Yes, it is true that many voters would have preferred different candidates. But either President Biden or former President Trump will presumably be our next President. So, think twice before voting for a third party in this election. That third party vote is one vote that you may live to regret.

Tom DeLoe is a member of Gettysburg Democracy for America’s Healthcare and Government Accountability Task Forces. He lives in Cumberland Township, Adams County.