By: Kara Haselton

Everyone knows about the election coming up in November. It’s nearly impossible to not know about it given the neverending coverage the candidates have gotten on the news and social media. Now, whether or not that popularity is more positive or negative, that’s a different story. Hillary Clinton is loved by some, and hated by others. Likewise, Donald Trump is loved by some, and hated by others. However, right now it seems that more people are willing to vote for Hillary as the polls stand at 48% support for her and 42% for Trump, according to NBC. When narrowed down to North Carolina, a poll by Real Clear Politics states that Hillary is also winning among the voting population. She has secured 45% of the votes, while Trump is not too far behind with 43.8% of the vote.

But there is hope! While the Democrats and the Republicans are the two dominant parties in the election process, there are other smaller parties and independent candidates running as well. Generally speaking, the third party or independent candidates are almost seen as a joke, because they don’t usually stand a chance against the poll-dominating Republican and Democrat candidates. But they might stand a chance if people knew about them. (Side note: George Washington, aka the FIRST president and our founding father, was “independent”…)

Running under a third party called the Constitution Party of the US is Darrell Castle (castle2016.com). Castle, an attorney in TN and a former Marine, considers himself a strong supporter of the Constitution. Some of his main stances and propositions he presents on his website are “adherence to the Constitution and a pro-life stance.” If elected, he believes America should withdraw from the United Nations as well as end the Federal Reserve. “Preserve, Protect, Defend the Constitution” is his slogan.

Dr. Jill Stein is running for president with the Green Party. She went to school at Harvard and is now a physician, so her stances and policies have a lot to do with reforming the health care system. She also has some strong propositions about financial reforms and student loans. She wants to “end unemployment and poverty; avert climate catastrophe; build a sustainable, just economy; and recognise the dignity and human rights of every person,” according to her website jill2016.com. Her running mate is Ajamu Baraka, a human rights activist.

Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party is another third party candidate. He is the former governor of New Mexico, and his VP running mate is Bill Weld, the former governor of Massachusetts. On their website (JohnsonWeld.com) they have the slogan, “Two of America’s most successful Governors… working together for a better America.” Johnson is a strong supporter of small government and what America is supposed to stand for… liberty and individual rights. He also believes in small business and that hard work produces success, leaving many with visions of the American Dream. Johnson also disagrees with high taxes, something he stopped while governor of New Mexico.

Apart from third party candidates, there are many independent candidates running for office. Out of all the independent candidates, Evan McMullin is one of the more well-known candidates. He is a former CIA operative, businessman, and House GOP Policy Director. What makes him a bit different than most other candidates is that he knows he doesn’t have much of a chance to be elected, and he’s not expecting to win. He simply wants “to speak truth to power and stand up for what’s right,” according to EvanMcmullin.com. McMullin wants people to vote for him to cast “message votes,” and be a voting outlet to those who don’t want to side with either Trump or Hillary. He is a conservative and is targeting anti-Trump republicans.

In America, her citizens are given the privileged right to vote for the leader of the country. That right should be taken advantage of and enacted. It’s important to vote, not just skip out on this election because the choices aren’t the best. There are more options in this election than just Trump or Hillary, and it’s also important to know and understand all the options before choosing.

Thanks to 2016.Presidential-Candidates.org for giving lots of information on these candidates.