Micah Sifry offers a thoughtful reflection on how to engage with those who feel alienated with our two-party system. Sifry notes, “All seven key battleground states will have at least one spoiler candidate on the ballot,” and only a few months ago, “one-quarter of Americans [said] they didn’t feel represented by either party.”  Unlike those pushing to keep these parties off the ballot, Sifry offers a message to the “third-party curious on the left” as well as important resources about effective third-party politics in the U.S.

“In my humble opinion, the message to bring to third-party curious voters on the left is simple: Your idealism is admirable. We need you to keep pushing for real change. But until we change our two-party system, either to a proportional representation system or one that (like New York and Connecticut) allows smaller parties to “fuse” by cross-nominating candidates, voting for third-party candidates in close elections won’t advance your cause. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz aren’t perfect, but if elected you’ll be able to keep pushing them. The opposite will be true under Trump-Vance.

This isn’t a message that will convince everyone, and it’s important to recognize that some third-party voters have never voted for a major party candidate. We see these people in every state in every election. For them, voting is a moral act, not a tactical one. Asking them to give up that belief is like insisting a vegan eat meat.”