The last month’s election has raised controversy and discussion for a multitude of reasons. Evidently, this race has been a historic and memorable one and had the entire country on the edge of their seat. Regardless of what position one sides with, it is clear that write-in and third-party candidates should be abolished from the voting ballot. With 11,000 people writing in Harambe, a dead gorilla, it is clear there is an abuse of this power. Many people feel they are “edgy” or “woke” because they did not subject themselves to just vote for one of the majority candidates, but, little do they realize, their third-party vote really holds no significance. When considering who to cast a vote for, one must take into consideration that writing a third-party candidate will only move the vote to one of the major candidates,  their candidate will never win the election and people waste their valuable vote on humorous write-ins.

When looking back upon this past race, it can be seen that third-party voting was something that helped guide one of the candidates to victory. For a candidate to win, they must win 270 Electoral College votes which are earned by winning the electoral votes of individual states. For elections, with very close races, voting for a third-party turns the vote in favor of one candidate as it takes away votes from the other candidate. Ultimately, a vote for a third-party equates to a vote for one of the major candidates. The last time a third-party candidate had a significant impact on the outcome of a race was in 2000, when Ralph Nader assisted George W. Bush to victory over Al Gore. However, Nader did not even manage to get three percent of the national vote, hardly an impact and surely not a win for president elect. If one votes for a liberal candidate, for instance, Bernie Sanders or Gary Johnson, the vote will go to the opposing Republican party, for example Trump, because the liberal vote has been split while the conservative vote was not.

As much as someone would like to hope and dream, a third-party candidate will never be able to win. A look into American history can validate this claim as it has never occurred and will most likely never occur. In 1992 and 1996, independent candidate H. Ross Perot set records with his campaign. In a few areas, Perot was first place and undoubtedly this was a feat for the party. Despite this support and 19 percent of the vote, Perot won no states. The nature of the Electoral College makes it virtually impossible for a third-party to win.  Essentially, the Electoral College is made up of 538 electors who cast their vote for their state. The population votes for who their state elector will vote; the amount of electors a state gets is proportional to the size of the state. For one to win the presidential race, they must win 270 votes and because of these limitations, a third-party will never be able to seize 270 Electoral College votes. The last instance when a third party candidate won any states was in 1968 with segregationist George Wallace in the race against Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey. Wallace won five states however, this had no impact as he won a mere 46 electoral votes and had no chance against Nixon’s 301 to 191 victory.  

Some may say that the ability to vote third-party and write-ins is a constitutional right. People may  feel that their views are most accurately portrayed by the third-party candidate and would rather align themselves with the third-party as opposed to the major parties. Especially during this previous race, some citizens felt it was “cool” to not vote for either candidate. However, if there was a candidate that they did not want to win, voting third-party is not the solution because a third-party candidate will never win.

Others argue that third-parties represent a significant portion of the United States and taking away their party vote would be considered a form of censorship or on the border on tyranny. But ultimately, if one knows that third-party will never win, why cast a vote against someone who is guaranteed a loss? Not only should the option of voting third-party be abolished but, write-ins should as well. 11,000 people thought it would be comical to vote for a dead gorilla. Others thought it would be funny to vote for Paris Hilton, Harry Styles and Selena Gomez amongst others. This is a waste of a valuable vote. Thousands of illegal citizens across the nation only wish that they could have their voice be heard and vote. Voting is a privilege and is not something to be taken lightly as a few votes could determine the outcome.

Third-party and write-in options on a ballot should be gotten rid of, as they hold no substance and will only negatively affect the outcomes. In the outcome of the race the winner will evidently be one of the major parties and never a third-party one. One may feel morally entitled to vote against the major parties but, it is a fruitless effort. Your vote determines the course of history for the country and the world.