If you are as disgusted with the two presidential choices as many concerned voters seem to be, consider this: A strong third-party candidate could cause enough disruption in the traditional voting patterns to prevent the candidate who received the most popular votes from securing enough electoral college votes to automatically claim the presidency.
The Electoral College consists of 538 electors. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the president. In 48 states the electors must cast all votes in favor of the candidate who received the most popular votes in that state.
If no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes, the House of Representatives elects the president from the three presidential candidates who received the most electoral votes. The Senate would elect the vice president from the two vice presidential candidates with the most electoral votes.
In an election year when both of the top candidates share the dubious distinction of being the least popular presidential candidates in history, maybe a concerted effort to support a third candidate wouldn’t be a bad thing. At least with that approach you could vote your conscience.
