The political class presents the presidential election as if it were a binary choice. One must vote for either the Republican or Democratic candidate.
But the choice is not binary. Every year there's a dozen or so people listed as candidate for president. Yes, most of the third party candidates are just people looking for some publicity and none have a chance to be president.
However, voting for these candidates is seen by the political machine as the rebuke of the partisan process used to select candidates.
In recent decades, the presidential election tends to be close. If enough people vote third party and independent then they can deny the winning candidate a majority of the popular vote.
People who vote third party in a swing state could create a situation where neither of the primary candidates get over 50% of the vote.
The primary candidate with the most votes will take the state. But a huge vote for third party and independent candidates is seen as a clear rejection of the partisan system which creates divisive and corrupt campaigns like the thing we witnessed this last year.
I listen to both Republican and Democratic speaches. Both sides are equally afraid of independent votes this year.
I would encourage anyone who is staring at a ballot and considering to vote between the lesser of two evils to make a clear statement by voting for a third party or independent candidate.
The political class and political historians analysize presidential votes in minute detail.
Voting against both candidates is a clear and decisive statement that our nation is fed up with the manifactured divisions created by the political class.
The political class on both sides of the aisle fear people voting independent. Both Trump and Hillary have issued admonishions against voting independent.
I say that, if this is what the political class fears, then it is what the people should do.
In this election both candidates are problematic. People (left, right and center) are livid with the candidates.
As independent voters will take from both parties, neither party could decisively say that the independents cost them the election. However, both parties will see that the political class has lost the faith of the people.
The best vote on November 8th is to vote for an independent or third party candidate.
No comments:
Post a Comment