Anyone who says Voting 3 rdparty is throwing your vote away is the reason we have the twoparty mess in the first place . No , it ' s because people who vote 3 rd Part on the basis of that candidate makes me feel better insult the work that has been done by members of the other parties , primarily the ones that align most closely with said 3 rd Party . For instance , I ' ll be honest and say I kind of hate the Green Party and other lefty parties . Reason being that I put my blood , sweat , and tears on a local level to help build the Democratic Party . I recruit young people to the cause , help get local candidates elected , fundraise , organize events to help push the dialogue , etc . So , when I then hear that someone is going off to vote 3 rd Party because the candidates don ' t appeal to me while disregarding that the candidate and the Party platform aligns 85 % with what they wish , I get furious . Building consensus is difficult and the rejection of the work that goes on to achieve it reeks of entitled attitudes to me .