Historical trends show that most Americans only recognize the two main political parties during an election. Even when you hear about the third-party candidate, you’re going to have that one Debbie Downer saying; “Your vote won’t even count if you vote independent.” Despite popular belief, this isn’t true, and third party voting may be the answer we are looking for.
Whenever people ask me what political party I am, they’re always a little taken aback when I say that I don’t identify. I agree with our founding father George Washington: political parties are tearing this country apart. Not only do we have the disrespect of the two main parties, but we’re seeing that many people don’t even know about the third parties that they can vote for. The reason I don’t identify is because I know what I want, and sometimes those things don’t line up with either of the main parties. Independent is like the best of both worlds: everything is an open door. We can have the ideals of both democrats and republicans, and ideas that don’t agree with either main party.
Let’s talk about Trump and Clinton. First, everyone can admit that the candidate you support the most has some awful ideas. Both of them do, but both of them have some good ideas as well. However, during this election, we’ve seen a lot of talk about the things that Clinton and Trump have done- especially illegal things that have nothing to do with this election. What we all need to remember when making our decision this election is that these things from the past are not going to affect the decisions made in the White House. However, the biggest reason for these rumors getting out is because both Trump and Clinton have the spotlight, and they’ve had it for far too long. It’s time that we give the spotlight to someone else: specifically libertarian Gary Johnson.
Gary Johnson is like the lesser-known Bernie Sanders. When looking through his campaign website, I was so surprised at what I saw. His ideals are like the happy medium between the two political parties. Possibly, the greatest thing about Johnson is that he isn’t a petty school child like our main candidates. Suffice to say, my vote would absolutely go to Johnson (if I were old enough).
However, Gary Johnson isn’t the only third-party candidate you could vote for. There’s also Jill Stein, and while she isn’t exactly the candidate I would choose, that isn’t my right to decide for other voters.
Every American citizen has a right to vote in the presidential election. Even when someone says that your third-party vote won’t count, don’t listen to him or her. Still vote, because when we are talking about your home country, you deserve to have your voice heard.
Written by Ally Johnson
Hey! I’m Ally Johnson! While I’m not a Tiger Cub writer, I love to share my views on the news that matters to this school. I’m a senior on the debate team, a Sunny D, and I’m in Orchestra and Cross Country. Also, I’m a huge supporter of Gary Johnson, 2016! Last but not least, go Tigers!
If you intend to vote for a 3rd party candidate, you probably fall into one of two groups: you genuinely support your candidate or you want to protest the democratic and republican candidates. There are currently only two major 3rd party candidates, Gary Johnson from the Libertarian Party, and Jill Stein with the Green Party. My thoughts on the candidates aside, if you have decided to vote for either one or anyone else, for that matter, because you personally feel they represent your views and opinions best out of all the candidates, I do not intend to tell you off. It is your democratic right to vote for whomsoever you choose. This article is not aimed at you, but rather the “protest voters”. I believe that a great number of people are frustrated with both main parties in the United States, particularly their candidates, and that in this despair, they choose to vote for Gary Johnson or Jill Stein or write in Mickey Mouse. There are two issues with this idea,
1. What are Mickey’s policies? I joke of course, but some people who intend to vote for Gary Johnson have no idea what he stands for and are merely against Clinton and Trump. Voting for a candidate whose views you do not properly know or actively act against your own views can be very dangerous. Perhaps this issue stems from the press’s limited coverage of 3rd party candidates, but the issue remains.
2. The idea that a “Protest Vote” is effective in any way. I’ve been told many times by my fellow classmates and many other sources that the 3rd party votes could somehow “Swing the Election” or somehow alter which major candidate wins the election. While mathematically plausible, this has never actually historically occurred. There have been times in which, had the 3rd party votes gone to the voter’s party, that candidate would have won, those voters would likely not have voted if their candidate was not on the ballot and the winner would have remained (As best exemplified by the Taft and Roosevelt split in 1912 that caused Wilson to win the election). The issue with the protest vote is that it’s mechanically implausible for 3rd party candidates to have any effect whatsoever in the coming election, let alone win.
Political systems in the U.S. are constructed with a two-party mindset and cannot function properly with more than two. Elections, both federal (presidential) and local/state (Mayoral or Senatorial) are, in almost all cases, built on a 50+1% vote — a simple majority. This does not work well for a plurality of parties, because, even if a candidate gets, for the sake of example, 40% compared to 30% and 30% with 3 candidates running, the candidate with 40% (in most American elections) would not win the race. There are many compensating measures that vary from election to election, but this means from a mechanical standpoint, concerning the presidential election, it is near impossible for a 3rd party candidate to influence the election at all, and systematically impossible for a 3rd party candidate to win.
So my question is this: If you are voting for Mickey Mouse or your grandma or a write-in candidate, you know you aren’t going to succeed. Why would anyone in good conscience vote for Gary Johnson knowing he is going to lose? What I am saying is simple. Voting for a third party candidate is roughly equivalent to a write-in or not voting at all. I’d like to urge people to vote for the candidate they prefer from the two major candidates, if only because one of them is definitely going to win this November if any poll is to be believed. If you are voting for a down ballot or 3rd party candidate out of anger with the institution, you are simply throwing your vote away, and while I prefer voting for nothing over not voting, I believe voting out of protest is an immature and illogical move. It makes far more sense to me to support someone you may not always agree with than to not support anyone. I will reiterate that I in no way disapprove of or disagree with voting for a candidate to represent your views, I merely think voting third party for the sake of protest is mechanically ineffective, irresponsible and possibly dangerous.
Written by Kai Anderson
My name is Kai Anderson, I’m 16 and I’m a junior at HHS. I haven’t done much with the newspaper before, but I was more than happy to write this when I was asked. I’m primarily involved in the arts including Symphonic Band, Full Orchestra, Chamber Choir, Show Choir and I’m a cast member in the upcoming fall play, The Uninvited. I’m also president of Anime Club and Tabletop Game club and participate in Quiz Bowl and Art club, to name a few.
