Within our political system, we have two main political parties: the Democrats and the Republicans. Each party has a platform built on two opposing ideas of government. But, there are also a slew of minor parties. The minor parties have a tremendous, although indirect, impact upon the platforms of the major parties. In order for the major parties to compete with each other, they must take into consideration the needs and issues of the minor parties. Although the number of voters within a minor party may not be enough to cause their presidential candidate to win a majority of the votes in the Electoral College, the voters can use their grouping to entice the candidates of the larger parties to address the minor party's political philosophy. Thus, the details of the Republican and Democrat platforms are rewritten to include portions of the minority party's stance, in hopes of swaying more voters towards the larger parties.