This is easy in theory, difficult in reality, but doable.
The president of the United States is not elected by the popular vote, as most people realize. He or she is elected by the Electoral College. It is, in fact possible, to win the presidency by only winning 11 of 50 states.
To keep either the Republican or Democratic nominee from winning the presidency it is only necessary to make sure neither candidate wins 270 electoral votes. This can be accomplished by other candidates winning a smattering of states in what will most certainly be an already divided election.
To be clear: no single candidate has to win several states to deny one of the major parties a victory. An Independent can win one. The Green Party candidate can win 2. The Libertarian candidate can win 1 or 2. Yet another 3rd party candidate squeaks out a victory in yet another state.
Assume for a moment Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump win their respective nominations. The states will be split. Trump will most certainly take many states in the South, and Hillary many in the North. But, many states will be up for grabs. If a group of candidates managed to win just 30 electoral college votes cumulatively, it could deny 270 to the Democrats and the Republicans.
I said this would be difficult; that’s understatement. It would take a lot of planning, give-and-take, etc. In short, it would take a rejection of all the intransigence that brought us to this spot.
The goal for this election should not be to elect a president. It should be to break the 2-party dominance. That is what this republic needs.
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