I never understood the argument that voting third party is “throwing away your vote”. A democracy is supposed to be a system in which everyone can vote for the path that aligns the most with their own values. If that is a third party, you should vote for that. Saying that you shouldn’t because “they probably won’t win and we need to defend democracy!” Is just goofy and bizarre to me. If that’s the system we’re in, there’s no defending democracy - it’s already dead.
I’m voting third party because that’s what best represents my interests. If one of the other major parties wants my vote, they can represent my interests better. That’s all there is to it. I don’t feel bad in the slightest.
I don’t like that it works that way, and I support your reasons for doing so. If we’re talking about the primaries especially. I know where I am, we haven’t had ours yet, but the country seems to have already solidified our choices for November.
If you’re talking about voting third party this November, the reason I can’t back that is that if someone can’t come close to getting enough votes to win (what’s the most vote % a recent third party has gotten in a presidential election?), then why not vote for your second choice that may win? It’s ranked choice voting in a way.
If you vote for someone knowing they will lose, you’ve maintained your principles, but is the outcome much different than if you sat out voting? By voting your second choice, you’ve still made what influence you can have be felt. It just seems more constructive that way.
Again, I really don’t like this is where we’re at, but it is. But one of these 2 old dudes doesn’t belong anywhere near any elected office, and I’m gonna do all I can to keep him out of it.
I’m glad we seem to be able to discuss this though. I feel many of these topics are published to stir crap up and they are not constructive, but we don’t need to let ourselves be sucked into it and fight each other. Thank you for being polite.
Yes. There is a massive difference between voting third party knowing you will lose and not voting at all. One casts your democratic vote and sets a record of what policies the country wants - one says nothing.
The country can have my vote. It can know where I stand, and I hope all progressives make it know where they stand. I won’t bend over to two party fascism because it already won, and I won’t have on my conscience voting for a person who poured 30 billion dollars into vastly increasing the police state, and who for months facilitated the killings of thousands abroad.
