Am I wrong?

If less people thought that way third parties would have a chance. Even if they don't win you're letting your voice be heard. It is still lost votes for the other two candidates. When people vote for them even though many don't really want them, they think they have all of that support. They think that's what the people want, is them and you're letting them believe that by voting for them.

It's a wasted vote, yes. At this level, when only one of two candidates can possibly win, voting a 3rd party candidate is the same as not showing up to vote at all. The time to support that campaign would've been at the local level, making the party legitimate and heard before positioning an unknown man or woman against giants.

We need more parties, to be sure. But they need to be wholly formed ideological parties. "Legalize weed," "save the planet," and "no government" are platforms, not political parties.

Voting 3rd party for local elections is perfectly rational. It may even be the better choice.

But in the US, the traditional established parties have dominated the landscape for so long that it will take quite some time for a reasonably legitimate alternative party to emerge.

Voting 3rd party for President is merely a protest vote and effectively is a vote for the candidate you can least accept

If we had a ranked choice voting system, when we vote we would indicate who our first choice, second choice, third choice etc. preferences are. When the votes are tallied, if no candidate has a majority, then the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and everyone who voted for that person will then have their second choice preference come into play. The votes would be re-tallied, and if still no candidate has a majority, the candidate with the fewest votes would be eliminated. And on and on until someone has a majority. With a system like that people could vote for third party candidates and not feel that their votes are wasted or that they are spoiling the election.

More people should challenge incumbents.
You may get steamrolled by the big party machines but at least if you're savvy you might start a movement for reform.

We have the same issues in the uk. It depends if you are in a state that could flip either way. If its not close, vote third party. If it is a competetive state then you have a tough decision.

You are wrong. Unless, of course, you're right.

That largely depends on whether you are in a swing state or not.

Technically no...but if you want to keep a certain party out badly enough vote tactically

It’s a wasted vote, often planted by the GOP to sway the numbers in their favor.

It's a wasted vote that foolish people follow to feel like they are making a statement.

Voting third party only makes sense with instant runoff multivoting.

@midnightrose I hope that they have not been duped into thinking that. If they really have checked out the information, and it isn't easy to verify everything, and are still unsure who to vote for, then they need to attend more meetings with representatives of the candidates and carefully reconsider.