Maybe things work differently in your universe but it this one, barring some terrible unforeseen event, the next president of the USA will be either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. If you are inclined to vote conservative (r) and you do not vote Trump you are by default helping Hillary. The reverse is also true.
Voting 3rd party is throwing your vote away since the contest is between Hillary and Trump.
Wishing and hoping will not change that dynamic. It is either Hillary or Trump there is no other outcome possible.
@AbaraXas
And you are wrong, both logically as well as mathematically. First, the logic issue is called a false dichotomy or false dilemma. Seeing that is generally a red flag of a con or an invalid manipulation. (common among politicians, cult leaders, and con artists, but I repeat myself)
http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?FalseDichotomyBut the fact of the matter, voting your values, even if it is for a third party is never a wasted vote, nor is it 'helping the other guy'
It is all about the electoral college and understanding how that works. A third candidate does not need to be on the ballots in all 50 states to be competitive nor to make an impact.
All the third parties need to do is keep the two major party candidates from reaching 270 EVs.
If no candidate reaches 270 electoral votes, the race is decided by the House of Representatives for president and Senate for VP. The House makes their choice based on the top 3 EV winners (in contention). But it gets even more interesting if the House fails to come to a decision, then the President is the VP selected by Senate..
Considering how closely divided this country is, that could be easy. Remember Bush v Gore; Bush won, 271 to 266 electoral votes. Only two EV's shifting to a (or multiple) third party candidates could have meant that neither major party candidate would win outright, it would go to the House. In the Bush v Gore case, a third party only getting on the ballot in ONE state could have theoretically made them competitive. (direct example, if Trump and Hillary split as closely as Bush v Gore, BUT Gary Johnson wins Utah (he is within the margin of error for the lead there), that would prevent Trump or Hillary from getting the 270 EVs).
Give the 12th Amendment a read.
This is like a big red reset button.
This is also not unheard of. This has happened twice before in our history, so out of 44 presidents, those aren't bad odds. Especially in a year like this.
So no, a third party vote is not a wasted vote. Vote your conscience, not the game.
