With the swaths of media attention and constant melee of words between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, it's hard to imagine that their are two other presidential candidates that will be on electoral ballots come Nov 8th. Gary Johnson, Libertarian Presidential Nominee and Jill Stein, Green Party Presidential Nominee have fought hard to get voters attention this election. Yet, without large financial backing or mainstream press coverage on their side, it is an uphill battle. According to rules set by The Commission of Presidential Debates, nether third party candidates are eligible to participate in the debates unless they receive 15 percent support in polling averages. As of Sep 16th, using the average of five national polls, Gary Johnson was polling at 8.4 percent while Stein 3.2 percent. Thus, neither Johnston or Stein have been allowed to participate in the debates.

No third- party candidate has ever won a U.S presidential election. The strongest showing for a third-party candidate came in 1912, when former President Theodore Roosevelt left the Republican Party for the Progressive Party. Roosevelt came in second, with 27.4 percent of the popular vote. More recently, in 1992 Ross Perot running as an independent against Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush took 18.9 percent of the vote.

Why can third party candidates be important? Third party candidates can bring attention to issues that neither of the major parties are discussing, they can also promote concepts and policies that could be important for America's economic, social and political future. However, some feel that no third-party candidate could ever win in the United States, so by voting for them, you are essentially "wasting" your vote. We believe that this should be your choice to decide.

Gary Johnson

Libertarian Party Presidential Nominee

Gary Johnson is an American business man, author and politician. He is founder of the multi million dollar construction company, Big J Enterprises. As a member of the Republican party, he served two terms as Governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003. He is also the author of two books: Seven Principles of Good Government and Common Sense for the Common Good. He was voted head of Libertarian Party in 2012.

Economy

• Government doesn't "create" jobs. Entrepreneurs, businesses, and economic prosperity are the building blocks for job growth.
• Simplify regulatory policy- get rid of the unnecessary laws and taxes that take the resources businesses use to create jobs.
• Eliminate corporate income tax to spur growth and improve job creation, and cut government spending by at least twenty-percent.

Immigration

• Create a more efficient system of providing work visas, conducting background checks, incentivize non-citizens to pay their taxes, obtain proof of employment.
• Make it simpler and more efficient to enter the United States legally, which will provide greater security by allowing law enforcement to focus on those who threaten the United States, not those who want to be a part of it.

Foreign Policy

• Stop using America's military strength to police the world. Doing so creates new enemies and perpetual war.
• Judicious use of the military. Stop trying to defeat terrorism by putting more boots on the ground or dropping more bombs.An imperialistic foreign policy makes it easier for organizations such as ISIS and Al Qaeda to recruit new members.
• Move quickly to cut off the funding on which violent extremist armies depend on.

Taxes

• Eliminate corporate income tax.
• Provide a regulatory and tax environment that incentivizes fairness.
• Simplify the tax code.
• Elimination of special interest tax loopholes.

Energy and Environment

• Need a firm stance to protect the environment for future generations. Believe the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plays an important role in keeping the environment and citizens safe.
• The government should not engage in social and economic engineering for the purpose of creating winners and losers on issues like clean energy innovation
• Believes Climate Change is happening and needs to be addressed.
• Promoting competition and incentivizing innovation will help protect the environment.

Jill Stein

Green Party Presidential Nominee

Dr. Jill Stein is an American physician, activist, and politician. She is a graduate from Harvard Medical school and has lead many environmental and social activist campaigns throughout her career. She was voted head of the green party in 2012.

Economy

• Transition to a clean energy economy.
• Replace NAFTA and other corporate free trade agreements that export American jobs.
• Create living wage jobs. Set a $15/hour federal minimum wage.
• Abolish student debt and guarantee tuition-free public education.
• Transition to a single-payer public health insurance program.

Immigration

• Create a welcoming path to citizenship for immigrants.
• Halt deportation and detentions of law-abiding undocumented immigrants.
• Demilitarize border crossings throughout North America.
• Improve economic and social conditions abroad to reduce the flow of immigrant refugees.

Foreign Policy

• End the wars and drone attacks, cut military spending by at least 50 % and close the 700+ foreign military bases that are a financial drain.
• Stop U.S support and arms sales to human rights abusers, and be a leader on global nuclear disarmament. Close Guantanamo.

Taxes

• Make Wall Street, big corporations, and the rich pay their fair share of taxes.
• Increase government revenues for social needs by restoring full employment, cutting the military budget, and cut private health insurance waste.
• Rewrite the entire Tax code to be progressive with tax cuts for working families, the poor and middle class, and higher taxes for the wealthiest Americans.

Energy and Environment

• Transition to 100% clean renewable energy by 2030, while investing in public transit, sustainable agriculture, and conservation.
• End the energy extraction practices of fracking, tar sands, offshore drilling, oil trains, mountaintop removal, and uranium mines.
• Label GMOs, and put a moratorium on GMOs and pesticides until they are proven safe.
• Support organic and regenerative agriculture, permaculture, and sustainable forestry.