In the United States of America, third parties are unconstitutional. "Unconstitutional" does not mean illegal or extralegal. It means incompatible with the Constitution, including its unwritten parts. "Third parties" means any group, however organized, that intends to influence public policy by nominating and electing candidates for office, other than the two major parties whether Democrats and Republicans, or Democratic-Republicans and Federalists. The third parties that have formed and dissolved over the years have been either splinter groups or fringe groups without any space in which to operate. The structure of the constitution forever banishes third parties from the mainstream of American politics.