Good Reasons to Support Third Party Candidates This November
1. According to the FEC, once a third party candidate receives at least 5% of the total popular vote, their party is considered a "minor party" and is eligible for partial public funding. That allows them to spend more money on advertising to get their message out, rather than spending most of it on canvassing for the signatures necessary just to get on the state ballots.
2. A candidate must have 15 percent of the popular support according to polls in order to be included in the presidential debates. Voting for these candidates gives them a chance to get their message out to the general public in debates the same as the major party candidates.
Interview with J. David Gillespie, professor of political science at Presbyterian College
30 August 2004
QUESTION: What about the ability of third party candidates to present their principles, their ideas, to the general public?
MR. GILLESPIE: Well, debate access is another constraint. You know, we've very rarely had a thirdparty candidate on the debate stage with major party candidates. Ross Perot and John Anderson are the only ones that have ever been on a presidential debate stage because, generally, it takes 15 percent of popular support as registered in the various polls to qualify for being part of the presidential debates. Since a candidate cannot gain popular support if he cannot get his views heard, this is a classic example of "themthathave is themthatgets."
3. Supporting third party candidates forces the major parties to consider adopting the ideas and principles of the third party candidates, in order to gain votes.
Third parties can draw attention to issues that may be ignored by the majority parties. If the issue finds resonance with the voters, one or more of the major parties may adopt the issue into its own party platform. Also, a third party may be used by the voter to cast a protest vote as a form of referendum on an important issue.* [Wikipedia: "Third Party (United States)"]
*Many members of the Just Say No Deal coalition are voting third party in November for this reason.