As the November election approaches, the citizens of the United States have become increasingly anxious about who will become our next president. The primary season has been filled with surprise, angst, anger, among other various feelings, and we are on the edge of our seats to see what choices we will have to choose from on our November ballots. Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, arguably the two scariest candidates running, are leading the Republican race, and the party's unofficial choices, Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio, dropped out, leaving John Kasich as the only shot for the Republican party to exert any type of control over what is going on. The Democratic National Convention, among other prominent Democrats, have all but hesitated in throwing their support behind Hillary Clinton, and though we'd expect her to be wiping the floor with Bernie Sanders, The Bern has actually risen as a real contender. With this angst has come a spread of various misconceptions surrounding the voting process. Some folks are so dedicated to their parties that they pledge to vote for whoever wins their party's nominations. Others are so disenchanted by the options that they vow to write in their candidate if their candidate doesn't win their party's nomination, or vote for a third party. That's great. Good on both of those sets of people, and the people in between. With these divisions (which are not necessarily bad), once again this concept has emerged that people are wasting their vote, or splitting the vote, or "handing over the election to the other party." Those conceptions are misleading and frankly stupid for a number of reasons. Here's just a couple to get the conversation started.
1. A vote is never wasted when you vote for someone who best represents you.
Writing in a vote or voting for a third party or voting for a candidate of a party you don't usually identify with is not a waste of a vote. The election system was designed in theory so that each person picks the candidate that best represents them, and originally, there were supposed to be a plurality of parties competing against one another, not just two. Unfortunately, over the years, we've created a two party system, and when people vote outside that two party system, they are told that their vote doesn't matter, that it's wasted. That is ridiculous. A vote is never wasted when you vote for someone who best represents you. That is the whole point of voting. The conception that we have to choose between the "lesser of the evils" is ridiculous. Why should we vote for people that we don't feel would best represent us as leaders of the nation? Are we really going to let other people tell us what is best for us? Candidates are not entitled to your vote, just because you identify with a particular party, and the party you identify with is also not entitled to your vote. Your vote is yours alone to cast, based on who you see as the best candidate, and who you see as best fitting the role for the office you are casting a vote for. You don't owe your vote, your support, to anyone.
2. The chance of your vote being a deciding factor in an election is extremely unlikely.
Hate to break it to you, but the chance of your vote being a deciding factor is slim, and extremely unlikely. By voting outside the two party system, you are not "handing over the election" to a party as some people claim. I remember sitting in one of my political science courses a couple of years ago, a course on political parties and interest groups. Our professor, an already badass member of the political science world, brought in another political scientist as a guest speaker to talk about this. His lecture resonated with me. My entire life, I had believed that I was wasting my vote if I chose to vote for a third party candidate, or that I would somehow ruin the election by not voting for the "lesser of the two evils." This doesn't mean that your vote is not worth anything; your vote is only as worthy as you make it. It still matters, and it still makes a difference. However, it's not going to cause the "lesser evil" to lose. The "lesser evil" is going to lose because the people more generally don't want that candidate in office, not because of you. In addition, if people actually voted for who they believed was the best fit candidate for them, we'd see an entirely different electoral system at play. We'd have multiple parties, as other nations have. Unfortunately too many folks are set into this idea of a two-party system for us to see substantial change in our electoral system, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't push back against the system if it's not working for us, even if that means voting for a third party.
3. There are more than two options.
There are so many options for voting for a candidate, especially in this year's presidential contest. It's becoming somewhat clearer with who will be the two major party candidates, but don't forget that you have other options if those two candidates are not ones that you feel best represent you. You can write your favorite candidate in (if your state allows it), you can vote for a third party candidate, you can vote for an Independent... you don't have to vote for the Republican and Democratic candidates if you don't want to. There are over 1,647 folks who have filed a Statement of Candidacy with the Federal Election Commission!
You can find an overview of the major candidates running here, and a complete list of presidential candidates here. This also applies to other elected officials (this section, not the links). For example, maybe a senator or representative or local officeholder that best represents you comes from a third party or is unaffiliated with a party. Take some time to research. And if none of the folks represent you well, consider running for an elected office.
4. Don't forget your other elected officials!
As much focus as we put on elections regarding the President of the United States, the President doesn't actually have that much power. The main power the President has is that of commander and chief. Other than that, the President acts more as a national figurehead than someone who actually has control of the nation and where it's headed. I mean, the President can veto bills and such and nominate officials for positions, but he really doesn't control much of what happens in your day-to-day life. I always find it so weird that people blame the President for everything that they find wrong. Likely the people at "fault" (keep in mind that systems are complex and individuals don't hold all of the blame) are your senators, representatives, and local officeholders. They are the ones that actually make the rules and policies that govern your day-to-day lives. Bottom line, if you really want to make your vote count, don't forget about the other national, state, and local elections, even in the years where there is not a presidential election, because frankly, they actually have more of an effect on your daily life.
5. You do you; just make sure to turn out!
Go ahead and write people in, vote third party, and forget the naysayers. All I ask is that you do turn out and vote. If you don't make the step to vote, you're likley not doing anything to help change things (or keep them the same if that's your jam). If you don't vote and had the ability to, it doesn't really make sense for you complain about the outcome because you didn't do anything to change it. Bottom line of this artice: you don't owe your vote to anyone, and no one, no party, no candidate, no group, is entitled to your vote. That is your voice and your power. Don't let people take that away from you.
