Final answer:
A vote for a minor party in a two-party system is often considered wasted due to the winner-take-all nature that benefits the two major parties, discouraging third-party votes. Voters engage in strategic voting to avoid helping the least favored major party candidate, while third parties struggle with visibility and support. Despite this, third parties can impact political discussion and provide alternative views.
Step-by-step explanation:
A vote for a minor party in a two-party system is often seen as a wasted vote because such systems typically operate on a winner-take-all basis. In the United States, this system perpetuates itself with the idea that third-party candidates have little-to-no chance of winning a major election. This type of electoral system discourages votes for minor parties due to the fear that it might inadvertently help the least desired major party candidate to win by siphoning off votes that could have gone to the more viable 'lesser of two evils.' Additionally, because voters perceive third-party candidates as unlikely to win, these parties struggle to maintain a strong voter base and receive less media coverage while facing greater barriers, such as difficulty in getting on ballots or receiving funding for campaigning.
In contrast, systems with proportional representation often lead to multi-party systems, as votes for smaller parties can still translate into seats and influence in the government, thus voters do not feel that their support for minor parties is squandered. However, in winner-take-all systems like the U.S., the two major parties often experience a sort of 'horse race' mentality among voters, where strategic voting for candidates seen as potential winners becomes common, leaving little room for third-party candidates to emerge victorious or have significant influence.
Despite the challenges, third parties do contribute to political discourse by highlighting specific issues, providing alternative choices, and in some cases, influencing the outcomes through shifts in voter support. But in a system where individual district representation is key, parties appealing only to a small segment of the population are less likely to win against more popular parties and, as historical examples show, tend to fade away without sustainable success.