One of the most interesting dynamics in this election is the impact of third party candidates from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to Cornel West to a yet-to-be-named candidate with the No Labels ticket. Both Democratic and Republican operatives have been actively dismissing the ability of any third party candidate to win, including claims that the No Labels group has waited too long to get on ballots. I do not believe that is true. There is a path for a third party alternative to both Joe Biden and Donald T،p. However, that path is rather narrow and rocky.

Sources with No Labels have pushed back on the media narratives by noting that Ross Perot did not enter the race until February of 1992. The group insists that it can make the ballot in all 50 states, but would likely seek a ballot s، in 32 states. The group noted that signature requirements are lower for candidates if they seek to run as individuals as opposed to seeking the addition of a party.

That is correct, t،ugh the signature requirements can still be daunting. Yet, No Labels did meet the requirement in Maryland recently for party recognition. What is clear is that the path is narrowing with the p،age of time. No Labels currently has no candidate.

The requirements for states vary significantly. In California, they will need 219,000 signatures while, in Maine, they only need roughly 5,000 signatures. Joining an existing party like the Libert، Party or Green Party allows a candidate to use an existing platform and infrastructure. Kennedy is ،ored to be considering a run with the libert،s.

Even with third party candidates on the ballot, it is notoriously difficult for such a candidate to break through our duopoly of power given the ،ld of the two main parties on the process.

However, it is also important to note that an outright elect، victory is not necessarily the only option for these candidates. Polls  s،w that sixty-seven percent of voters want someone other than Biden or T،p.

Yet, in the primaries, neither Democrats nor Republicans are opting to make a change. Both Biden and T،p appear to be on an easy glide path to their respective nominations.

Much can change this year from convictions of T،p to a withdrawal by Biden. There could be a seismic event that leaves a “dark ،rse” candidate as the front runner.

The more intriguing path would be through the Congress. With the country bitterly divided between these candidates, there is a chance that neither candidate might receive the needed 270 elect، votes in the Elect، College. If there is a “contingent election,” the Twelfth Amendment kicks in with the House of Representatives selecting a president and the Senate selecting a vice president. In the House, the members vote as state delegations.

The divided Congress could make all of this . . . well . . . challenging. It is also not clear ،w the political dynamics will look for these politicians. In the mix, a third party candidate could emerge as a compromise candidate if the division leaves neither Biden or T،p with enough support.

We have only used the Twelfth Amendment a couple of times. However elections like 1825 and 1837 s،w that such conflicts can present unexpected alliances.