With all of the commotion and disruption occurring with the DNC (Democratic National Convention) right now, I'd like to take the time to inform you of why your vote that matters should not be wasted on Hillary Clinton. This article is not meant to persuade you to vote for a specific candidate, but to simply inform you of the candidate you should not be voting for this November.
To begin, I'd like to point out where each of the top three candidates received campaign funding over the past year or so:
Donald Trump's campaign has raised approximately $65 million with only 3% of his finances stemming from super PACs and other groups. The other 97% of his finances came from campaign donations from everyday Americans.
Bernie Sanders has raised approximately $222 million with only 0.01% of his finances stemming from super PACs and other groups. The other 99.99% of his finances again came from campaign donations from everyday Americans.
On the other hand, Hillary Clinton's campaign has raised approximately $313 million with 27% of her finances stemming from Super PACs and other groups. Meaning that over one fourth of her campaign finances came from banks, elected officials, and corporations most likely in return for political favors.
With that information provided, I'd like to now inform you of the multiple email scandals that Hillary Clinton has been involved with. While serving as the Secretary of State, Clinton used a personal email server to relay classified government materials. That personal email server was then hacked and classified information was accessed. The FBI has explicitly said that using personal email servers to relay classified information is a criminal act and should be punished accordingly. However, Hillary Clinton has not received any jail time or consequences for breaking the law. Not only has she gone above the law, but she is still allowed to be a candidate for presidency.
The other email scandal that was recently leaked was between the Hillary Clinton campaign and Debbie Wasserman, a chairwoman for the DNC. Over 20,000 emails were leaked in this scandal providing information that the DNC was trying to devalue and undermine the Sanders campaign. These emails have lead to the five year chairwoman stepping down from her position with the DNC. The Democratic National Convention is supposed to remain neutral between prospective candidates. DNC officials were found targeting the religion of Sanders, calling his aides liars, and plotting a narrative to explain how the Sanders campaign "failed". Wasserman was even quoted in an email saying that Bernie Sanders had "no understanding" of the democratic party. Well Debbie, last time I checked democracy wasn't exchanging "donations" for political favors, or conspiring with the DNC to have another candidate fail.
As a liberal college student, I'd like to point out the other paths besides the Democratic Party that you can take at the voting booth this November. There are plenty of other candidates including the Republican nominee Donald Trump, the Green Party nominee Dr. Jill Stein, and the Libertarian nominee former governor Gary Johnson. In the case that you do not identify with any of those candidates, one of your civil liberties is to write someone in for president. There are always other options, but not voting is not one. Remember that so many people have fought for your write to vote, so don't waste it on Hillary Clinton.
