Re: “How will third-party candidates affect the 2016 election?,” Aug. 13 Perspective article.

If voters don’t want to vote for either of the two major-party presidential candidates, they truly do have other options this election cycle. A vote for former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson and his Libertarian Party running mate, former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld, would not only be a vote for two qualified candidates that better represent the majority of voters in our state, but it would also show that voters are rejecting the nomination process itself.

Voting for someone you feel aligned with is not a wasted vote. Voting strategically to defeat the “lesser of two evils” only perpetuates the system that produced the two unfavorable options in the first place. It is time to fix the broken two party system itself by showing support for qualified candidates that offer an alternative.

Kathleen Curry, Gunnison

The writer is a former Colorado state representative.

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