Working Families Party buttons at their state conference in April 2017 in Albany. (John Carl D'Annibale/Times Union)

A few days into early voting and a week from Election Day, here’s some Latin for you: Caveat suffragator.

That translates as “Let the voter beware,” which is always good policy — especially this year — but specifically important for those who might be inclined to cast their votes for third-party candidates. Whether the party might be conservative or progressive, you’ll often need to do some research to find out whether the candidate running on its line is an actual advocate for its platform in part or whole, or merely a stooge put in place to block another aspirant’s electoral hopes.

There’s a lot of the latter in New York, where it can be all too easy for spoiler “ghost candidates” to........

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