When I think of this election cycle, I involuntarily roll my eyes.
This will be the first presidential election that many of us are able to cast a ballot in, and it is certainly a piece of work. With the historically unfavorable candidate choices, many are choosing simply not to vote in this election. Stop right there. If anything, that should make you want to vote more. But not for the reasons one would think.
Everywhere I turn, I hear things like “I couldn’t stand it if he got elected, so I’m voting for her,” or vice versa. That is not the way to look at it. Elections should be about voting for a candidate you believe in, not voting against one you despise. I think that may be what is wrong with the current two-party system.
Let’s assume for a moment that there is someone you feel like you could support, but they are not from either major party. What do you do? Most people would say your chosen candidate has no shot of winning and is therefore irrelevant. I strongly disagree. Just because a candidate cannot win does not make them irrelevant, not in the slightest. I believe there is no such thing as a wasted vote, especially not in this election. Voting for someone you believe in is never a wasted vote.
Third parties have difficulty gaining ground because they lack voters, not ideological followers. The problem is that many refuse to vote third party because they lack the number of voters necessary for political success. This circular logic leads people to perpetually choose between the lesser of two evils.
With so such dislike for both of the major party offerings this year, the time is right to vote third party. If you don’t like any of the offerings, find a candidate and write them in. Not only are you making sure your voice is heard and exercising your right, you are casting a vote for additional options. It is not about “winning” and “losing,” instead it is about expressing your dissatisfaction with the current political process.
If a third party candidate receives 5 percent of the popular vote, they become eligible for funds from the Federal Election Commission’s Presidential Election Fund. Libertarian Gary Johnson, who is currently polling at 7 percent, is the highest polling third party candidate, and he raised only $2.3 million for this election. If the libertarian candidate had received the necessary 5 percent in 2008, Gary Johnson would have had access to a war chest three times as large for this election.
If we can get federal funding for a third party, we can end the two-party dominion and start seeing a range of candidates from which to choose, instead of this disastrously dichotomous decision. With equal access to federal funding, there will be more opportunity for campaign ads, TV interviews, and name recognition, which will all work together to ensure there are three or more podiums at the debate in 2020.
So take a stand and vote for someone you truly believe in, rather than simply trying to keep someone out of office. By choosing to vote for a third party as I have, we may just create our best America yet. So what do you say, Harding? You in?
