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Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein.

(Official campaign photo (c) Lisa Abitbol)

To the Editor:

Today, roughly 44 percent of American voters are registered as something other than Republican or Democrat. However, due to several factors, including the strict ballot access laws and debate rules of the two major parties, it is difficult for other voices to be heard.

Nevertheless, Dr. Jill Stein, the presumptive Green Party nominee for president, is currently at 5 percent in the polls. If she reaches 15 percent, she will be allowed to participate in the debates this fall. Stein has already more than doubled her standing in the polls in the last several weeks, so the 15 percent threshold is far from unthinkable.

The Green Party, with its four pillars of Ecological Wisdom, Social Justice, Grassroots Democracy and Non-Violence, is truly a people's party. The more votes that Stein gets, the stronger a voice the Greens, and therefore, everyday Americans, will have in shaping the national dialogue.

The point is: Unless you are a true believer of Trump or Clinton, you should not waste your vote on either of them. And to those who say that Greens spoil elections for the Democrats, I'd first ask: What have the Democrats done for you lately? Second, I'd point out that in the 2000 election, Bush got more votes from self-described "liberals" than Ralph Nader did - true story. Don't let the fear of the "greater evil" stop you from voting for the greater good.

Eric Graf

Syracuse

