This election season, the Democratic and Republican Parties nominated the two most polarizing candidates in living memory.

A July Gallup poll found that 58 percent of Americans have unfavorable ratings for both Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican Party nominee Donald Trump.

According to a Quinnipiac poll, 37 percent of voters say they would consider voting for a third party candidate – and 65 percent of those voters say it’s because they dislike the major party candidates.

What is driving this thirst for a third option?

Cornell Clayton, Director of The Thomas S. Foley Institute at WSU, provided some insight.

“I get the frustration that some voters have with the system when we get highly polarized like we are right now,” Clayton said. “There’s a lot of people who feel like the parties aren’t representing them.”

Clayton explained that the U.S. Constitution endorses a two party system. Voters have to vote for one candidate and the one with the most votes wins. In many European countries, there are proportional systems that allow for minor party representation.

However, Clayton argues that our system isn’t such a bad thing.

“The United States is a large, pluralistic democracy,” Clayton said. “It has a lot of ethnic groups, religious groups, and it’s always been this way. It forces the parties to fight for the middle of America. It forces the parties to build broad coalitions. The parties generally have to tack toward the middle.”

But what if I’m unhappy with choosing one of the two options the system has given me? Should I vote third party?

Clayton doesn’t think so.

“In the U.S., voting for a third party candidate is a wasted vote,” Clayton said.

But is it really a wasted vote?

We all know that Washington State will almost certainly go for Hillary Clinton – a Republican hasn’t won this state since 1984.

That means, if you’re planning on voting for Donald Trump, your vote is a wasted vote here. So, following that logic, you should only vote for Hillary Clinton, otherwise you’re wasting your vote.

What if I told you that, instead, voting for one of the two major party candidates is a wasted vote?

If you’re thinking, “I’m voting for Trump, but only because Hillary Clinton is so bad” or “I’m voting for Clinton, but only because Trump is so bad,” I have some good news for you.

Your vote is likely to be one in almost 100 million. You don’t have to vote for either, because your vote is relatively insignificant, so don’t bother voting for the lesser of two evils.

If you’re trying to make the strategic, pragmatic choice, don’t. It doesn’t matter. Instead, vote your conscience.

If either the Green Party or Libertarian Party receives just 5 percent of the vote, they will receive “minor party” status, which will open them up to federal funding and ease ballot access.

In the 1890s, the Populist Party breathed down the neck of the two major parties. They began to pick up electoral votes in western states, and this made the Democrats and Republicans nervous.

And so, in order to ensure their victory, both parties had to adjust their platforms to pick up populist votes.

The Populist Party no longer exists, but it lives on in the manifestos of both parties.

If we can send a signal to D.C. politicians that we’re unhappy with the Democratic and Republican Parties, we may just be able to change the way politics work more than if we just supported an outsider in the primaries.

“Wealth and income are the most polarized they have been since the 1890s,” Clayton said. “We haven’t had this many foreign-born Americans since the 1890s.”

If we are living in a parallel political universe to that of the 1890s, why don’t we play the part – instead of voting for the lesser of two evils, let’s vote for who we think best represents our ideals.

The only wasted votes are votes you don’t believe in.

Harrison Conner is a junior economics major from Stanwood. He can be contacted at 335-2290 or by [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of The Office of Student Media.