Third-party voters face a tough choice in a tight election

Voters considering a third-party candidate face the same dilemma every presidential election cycle: should they vote their values and get behind a candidate who likely won't win, or settle and support a Democrat or Republican nominee they see as flawed.

This year, Pope Francis weighed in.

“One must choose the lesser of two evils," he said during a news conference on the papal plane in September. He didn't say who — between Vice President Kamala Harris or Former President Donald Trump — was less evil. But he did describe both candidates as anti-life, citing Harris' views on abortion and Trump's on immigration.

Still, many voters can't swallow supporting either candidate. Every four years, millions of American support third-party candidates. While their candidates don't win, these voters can be influential in elections with razor-thin margins.

"It's extremely close and the third party candidates, though very low in percentage numbers, are still factors," Tim Malloy, polling analyst for the Quinnipiac University Poll, said. "When you are looking at a race that could be determined by three or four percentage points, or maybe less, they are still there."

Most polls, including the latest one from NPR/PBS News/Marist, show Trump and Harris locked in a tight race.

Third-party voters are often dedicated to single issues, Malloy said. Topics like abortion, the environment or the war in Gaza "can determine where they go," he said.

GOP's ‘messing around on’ abortion

John Quinn of Maryland, is a millennial and self described pro-life voter. This year, he plans to vote for the American Solidarity Party — a Christian democratic political party that opposes abortion rights.

Quinn said he knows candidates Peter Sonski and Lauren Onak