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# Two Ways to Protest Two-Party System
- URL: https://ivn.us/two-ways-to-protest-two-party-system/
- Published: 2012-07-25T22:33:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-06-22T19:28:22.000Z
- Author: Kymberly Bays
- Tags: News

![two-party-system](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/2026/02/republican-democrat-battle.jpg "two-party-system")

The Atlantic has a thought-provoking piece out today, "[How to Protest the Major Parties Without Throwing Away Your Vote](http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/07/how-to-protest-the-major-parties-without-throwing-away-your-vote/260273/?ref=ivn.us)", where the author proposes two main options for making a mark outside the two-party system:

> *1) Postpone your calculated support for someone you don't like until you're standing in the election booth. Before then, support the third-party nominee you'd like to see win. If a pollster asks who you support give their name, not the major-party candidate you may wind up voting for in the end. Doing so doesn't squander your vote on someone who won't win, but could be the difference between a Libertarian or Green Party candidate being included or excluded from TV debates. 2) Think about whether or not you live in a swing state. If so, maybe it makes more sense to vote Republican or Democrat. But if you live in a state like California, where the Democrat will obviously win, or a state like Utah where the Republican is obviously going to win, your vote is going to have a lot more impact if you're part of a third-party surge that signals disaffection to others.*

Adding, "If Republicans or Democrats notice a third party getting traction -- that is to say, 8 or 10 or 15 percent of the vote -- they'll start co-opting its issues."

**What strategy do you have, if any, for voting?**