Green Party supporters rally amidst groundswell of third-party support

Green Party supporters rallied Thursday for their nominee Jill Stein in an attempt to reach out to dissatisfied voters in the progressive hub of Madison.

Stein was scheduled to speak at the event, but ultimately canceled due to a minor sickness contracted from campaign travel, according to party surrogates.

In an election between two of the least popular major party nominees in history, voters, especially millennials, have shown an increased interest in third party options.

“I heard [Stein] was going to be speaking today, so I thought it would be really cool and interesting to see a new perspective,” said UW-Madison freshman Michael Gilger. “I mostly agree with the things she stands for, even though I don’t really identify with a party.”

In a recent New York Times poll, more than one-third of millennial voters said that they intend to support either Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson or Stein. Bryan Ward, an organizer with the International Socialist Organization, sees space for this support to grow.

“The Bernie campaign showed that there is a real craving for an alternative. Jill Stein is putting herself out as that alternative right now.”

Bernie Sanders, who ran against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the primary, has been campaigning for the Democratic nominee across the country, attempting to consolidate his dissatisfied supporters behind her.

Among his primary voters, about 13 percent reported they will support Stein, while 69 percent stated they will back Clinton.

Stein has focused heavily on swaying ex-Sanders supporters, highlighting the ideological similarities between the two left-of-center candidates. Despite these similarities, Sanders has consistently discouraged voting third party in the light of a possible Trump presidency, instead speaking on behalf of Clinton and Democrats across the country, including Wisconsin senatorial candidate Russ Feingold.

“When we're talking about president of the United States, in my own personal view, this is not the time for a protest vote," Sanders said, according to the Washington Post.

But many progressive voters feel left behind by the Democratic party, according to Dace Zeps, an administrator at the UW-Madison Department of Gender and Women’s Studies.

“The Fight for $15 is a really tough campaign,” said Zeps, referring to the national push for a minimum wage of $15 an hour. “The Democrats swooped in and said ‘How about $10.10?’ You know that’ll get you off of welfare, but it won’t let you do just about anything else."