Voting is important, but voting third party is basically not voting. Third party candidates rarely win, and they’re not going to anytime soon.

Politics are very black and white today. You’re either for President Donald Trump or against him. This has made it hard for any other candidates to shine through, because it’s no longer Democratic or Republican — it’s Trump or no Trump. Trump has taken the Republican party to a different level by being openly ableist, sexist and racist. People don’t have to hide their biases anymore because their president shouts them on national television.

Because Trump has turned everyone for or against him, you can’t vote third party if you want your candidate to win. Whether you want him to win or not, voting third party will just be a waste of a vote. A third party candidate has never won a presidential election, and now is not the time to experiment.

If someone like Adolf Hitler was running for president, even if I didn’t wholly agree with the opposing candidate, I’d still support the other candidate and vote for the lesser evil. If I voted third party, knowing they wouldn’t win, the other candidate with a better chance against Hitler would be losing a vote. This is how I feel about people who voted third party in the 2016 election. 

Midterm elections are upon us, and Republican and Democratic candidates are neck-and-neck in some key states. When former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders was running against former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Trump, he was splitting the Democratic votes. There is no room for a third party, because our government functions solely on the two-party system that has existed for hundreds of years. I hope in the future it isn’t like this, and we can have more than two parties.

When Trump picked Judge Brett Kavanaugh to be on the Supreme Court, he was basically telling women their voices don’t matter and a man’s voice means more than a woman’s. Trump told women to be quiet and nearly ended the #MeToo movement, because women are just going to be told they are falsely accusing.

When Trump supports #BlueLivesMatter and #AllLivesMatter, he is telling black people he doesn’t care if they get shot and killed in the street. #BlueLivesMatter isn’t just supporting police officers — it’s saying it’s okay when police officers aren’t convicted for murders they commit. When police officers’ only punishment is suspension or job loss after murdering someone, it sends the message it’s okay to kill black people because those who do won’t get in that much trouble. 

No, I will not be voting third party in any upcoming elections, because I will not give my support to the Republican party who supports Trump.

Ashlon Lusk is a 19-year-old mass communication sophomore from Houston, Texas.