Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have alarmingly low approval ratings. According to Huffington Post, which accumulated thousands of polls from several sources, a whopping 61.8 percent of people polled throughout the United States consider Trump an unfavorable candidate, and 53.2 percent consider Clinton an unfavorable candidate. These numbers suggest that most Americans do not approve of either candidate. With candidates so widely disliked, a valid question arises: are these two really America’s only options?

There are actually five major political parties in the U.S: the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, the Green Party, the Libertarian party and the Constitution Party. In addition to the major parties, there are a plethora of minor parties that range from the U.S Socialist Party to the Modern Whig Party.

Bernie Sanders was an independent from 1979-2015, meaning he was not officially part of a political party. When Sanders ran for President, he joined the Democratic Party to gain more national media attention. Sander’s political views tend to lean far left and do not always match up with the Democratic platform. It is inequitable that politicians are forced to change their political party just to be taken seriously.

In the U.S, third party candidates are generally disregarded as legitimate presidential contenders because Americans are so used to obtaining their information through mainstream media and paying attention to the traditional bipartisan system. Seeking out the candidate you agree with may be more difficult than paying attention to what’s on the news. However, it might be the only way to keep the U.S a nation of the people, for the people, by the people.