Amidst a presidential election that has people searching for alternate options other than the two main parties, there is an increase in the number of individuals who are moving to a third party. One of those third parties, and the most popular, is the libertarian party. 

Gary Johnson is at the forefront of the libertarian party alongside Bill Weld. 

The party’s goal is to have Johnson on stage with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton at the upcoming debates. 

This can only be achieved if Johnson polls at 15% and he is currently at 10.2%. 

Third party growth is not just happening nationally; it is growing locally too. 

The Young Americans for Liberty group at Ashland University focuses more on the libertarian party and protecting individuals’ liberty, although it is not exclusively composed of libertarians.

“It is something everyone can be involved in whether you are a democrat [or] republican; we are the Young Americans for Liberty,” president of the Young Americans for Liberty Justin Simon said. “We are not entirely libertarian, but a lot of us identify as libertarians. We have moderates, we have people who are far leaning on the right side, we have people who are far leaning on the left side, and we have people who are in between a little bit.”

The club has grown from three to 15 members over the course of the summer. Simon says that the club is composed of roughly around 50-60 percent libertarian individuals, while the rest come from different political backgrounds but all are in support of Johnson in the 2016 presidential election. 

Simon says he saw an increase in the clubs growth with the 2016 election nearing and voters’ disappoint with whom was representing their parties. 

“This election cycle has made me uneasy and I do not back the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, I am absolutely not voting for Donald Trump,” AU student and club member Kayla Gowdy said. “When it comes to the very top of the ticket, I will be voting a more third party route.”

College students are among the biggest group seeking a third party this election.

“You have this huge age group who are millennials that account for almost everyone in college and everyone entering the workforce, Simon said. “They felt [that] they did not have a candidate that really represented them until Gary Johnson got a more notoriety.

The Young Americans for Liberty was founded in 2008 by Ron Paul with the focus of bringing together liberty minded students. The club had only 96 chapters in 2009, and currently has over 600 chapters nationwide.