Wasting Your Vote

[Jolly]

The best polls show her getting 5%. That's inconsequential, but enough to tip an election, in some states.

[Mik]

I did not consider my vote for Johnson/Weld in 2016 wasted, nor my vote for John Anderson in 1980. I honestly believed they were the best qualified candidates. I do not feel the same way about Jo Jorgenson, nor do I think her running mate is qualified to be a heartbeat away from the presidency, so I am left with one of the major party candidates.

But I will never consider a third party vote wasted.

[Catseye3]

[Jolly]

In our system, unless a third party candidate has overwhelming support (i.e. Bernie Sanders in recent times), almost any election featuring a third party candidate, is a siphon of votes for one of the two major party candidates.

[Catseye3]

Gotta walk before you can run. To get to a point that a third party can make a difference, they've got to start out small. The effect is cumulative. As more people see 5% grow to 8%, more people will join in.

[Mik]

I think third parties need to start out more local/state than national. That's what the Tea Party did and now they are well represented in Congress.

[Doctor Phibes]

My Russian friend says that voting for somebody you hate is both a waste of your vote, and a surrender of your soul.

[Jolly]

@Doctor-Phibes said in Wasting Your Vote:

My Russian friend says that voting for somebody you hate is both a waste of your vote, and a surrender of your soul.

His perspective may be slightly different.

[Jolly]

@Mik said in Wasting Your Vote:

I think third parties need to start out more local/state than national. That's what the Tea Party did and now they are well represented in Congress.

The Tea Party was mostly a subset of the GOP.

[Mik]

To a degree, but they were NOT the rank and file.

[Doctor Phibes]

@Jolly said in Wasting Your Vote:

@Doctor-Phibes said in Wasting Your Vote:

My Russian friend says that voting for somebody you hate is both a waste of your vote, and a surrender of your soul.

His perspective may be slightly different.

As an immigrant that came over in the Soviet era, I would say that he has a much better understanding of what constitutes tyranny than most natural born Americans. Not once has he complained about the need to wear a mask.

[George K]

@Doctor-Phibes said in Wasting Your Vote:

I would say that he has a much better understanding of what constitutes tyranny than most natural born Americans.

"If you're screaming 'THIS is what a police state looks like' in a public place, you have no idea what a police state looks like."

[jon-nyc]

[89th]

@Jolly said in Wasting Your Vote:

Now, explain to me why voting third party is not a waste of your vote?

In Virginia, Biden will win the state. So for me it’s a protest for a 3rd party to get more votes even though they obviously won’t win. I’d never vote for Biden, and I refuse to support Trump on moral grounds, so...either I don’t vote, or I vote for Jo. Either way, the result of Biden winning Virginia is the same, except in this case the libertarian will see one more vote.

[jon-nyc]

I was either going to write in somebody or vote libertarian had Bernie won. But again, in NY it’s a bit of a non-issue.

[Horace]

Votes are easy if they don't matter, but the messaging power of being able to honestly say that you voted for someone. Votes become hard if you have to make a difficult choice.