This election has voters struggling to decide between the lesser of two evils. The political powerhouses that are Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have amassed enough notoriety to effectively drown out competing candidates, however, unbeknownst most is that these candidates might be your best bet.

With the exit of millennial favorite Bernie Sanders, numerous young voters have opted to boycott the election altogether. Conservatives and liberals outside of the millennial age range have their own quarrels with these candidates, causing a lack of concrete support. Trapped between Trump and Clinton, Americans feel the need to either settle or forfeit their votes entirely.

Countless political scientist and beyond that, countless political studies have stressed the importance of making use of your vote despite the choices available. They expressly convey that as members of a first world nation in which, all genders, all races, and all socio-economic strata are afforded the luxury to elect representatives, the last thing we should do is ignore that right. Educating oneself and one’s family and friends of the representation options available is imperative to the cohesive function of our political system

While Democratic and Republican parties remain the most heavily supported, the formation of a separate third party is fully sanctioned by law. The Libertarian, Green and Constitution parties are recognized, if not fully respected, as major political parties. The baby boomer generation, consisting largely of conservatives, admonishes against the loose political outlooks of these parties, but their ideals often align with younger liberals. Third party candidates are rarely found victorious and poses radical virtues, garnering them little respect and much scrutiny from their political peers.

Whether you agree with the platforms of these third party candidates or not is the least important matter at hand, though educating yourself along with family and friends on the representative options available to you, is.

The most promising of the third party candidates are, Evan McMullin, Gary Johnson and Jill Stein.

Evan McMullin is an independent candidate, as an individual politician he does not fall under any of the major parties but instead represents a personal platform. McMullin is a former CIA operative with no experience in elected office. Backed by pro-establishment republicans such as Mitt Romney and Bill Kristol, he is considered a promising alternative to Trump. His platform is largely conservative, an Obama care repeal along with military focus satisfy his republican constituents. Although his liberal views on trade and immigration alienate him from stringent right wing conservatives that have instead found solace in Trump. From an economic standpoint, McMullin aims to follow the republican strategy of creating jobs through tax regulations.

The Libertarian party focuses on reducing bureaucratic control, laissez-faire capitalism and emphasizes small government. On their ticket is the former governor of New Mexico, Gary Johnson. Johnson’s platform follows Libertarian views with policies to reduce federal involvement in institutions such as education and healthcare, and support for the privatization of both. The platform also contains liberal support of LGBTQ members, acknowledges climate issues, and advocates for a free market economic system.

Representative of the Green party is Jill Stein. The Green party is known as the most progressive and liberal among the major parties. Social justice, environmentalism, quality for both genders and races along with sexual freedom are staples of this party. Stein’s platform adheres to many of these values and is reminiscent of the socialist propositions of Bernie Sanders. Stein believes in tuition-free public education, increased federal minimum wage, and a health care system that resembles current Medicare.

Unconventional in the face of the democratic and republic platforms continuously highlighted through media, the proposed policies of these third party candidates have met both strong support and opposition. The most recent polls have shown Johnson and Stein to follow behind Clinton and Trump, respectively, with marginal percentages, McMullin is catching up as well. While it may be that none of the third party candidates are elected, or that one is, it is important to know who the candidates are, the policies they represent and more so to find a candidate to spend that very precious vote upon.