It is indeed wasted, except to the individuals who feel the need to vote their heart, but in a sense their vote doesn't count! All that person is doing is voting to declare they went to the polls and voted so they don't look like a smuck!
The candidates on a third party or those who are written in will NEVER garner enough votes to put them in office, but those votes could make a difference to one side or another in the case of a close vote! In this election it WILL BE either Trump or Hillary, like it or not, that's how it is! If any of those 3rd party (libertarian) candidates really, really wanted to get the publics interest, they would have begun their quest back in 2012! All the conservatives were upset over Obama's win and the failures of the RINOS in Washington! That's when they should have stepped up and raised their voices, got out in the public eye, did whatever they could to get media coverage!
Instead, they were basically silent until Trump was winning the nomination! No one knows much about them, I sure don't. ..never heard of them until about April. So now they are promising the world top siphon votes from Trump to give Hillary the win!
Same damn thing happened with Ron Paul & Ralph Nader and other 3rd party candidates in the past! No chance in hell they will win, but they sure will hand the win to the Democrats! Democrats don't split. ..look at the current race! Sanders endorses Clinton even thought they really had separate campaigns. ..anything to get Hillary elected! Damn conservatives chew each other up and spit them out then wonder why the Democrats stay in office! 4951