October
22, 2016
I
take my right to vote very seriously. Your
one vote not only affects your life, but the lives of millions. So you might be surprised when I suggest that
there are times when it is appropriate to exercise your right to not vote.
I
have taken a great deal of heat for this statement in the past. People drag out the cliché, “If you don’t
vote, you don’t have the right to complain!”
I call BS. If the two parties in
this country cannot come up with one viable candidate that I can in good
conscience vote for, then I have every right to complain and to complain
LOUDLY!
Others
are offended, “Men and women have died for your right to vote!” I agree, but they also died for my right to
protest.
We
live in a country where we have the right to not vote. There are twenty countries in the world where
voting is compulsory. The repercussions for not voting vary. In Australia, you receive a letter demanding
to know why you didn’t vote. If you don’t
give the electoral commission a satisfactory answer, you can be fined A$20. In others, you could lose your passport or
your driver’s license. (Check out: http://www.citizencapitalism.com/2011/04/06/it%e2%80%99s-illegal-not-to-vote/
or http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/09/economist-explains-10
to learn more.)
This
election cycle has been heated and divisive.
We are weeks away from the election and there are still undecided voters. Many are so disgusted by the vitriol that
they will choose to either not vote or vote for a third party candidate.
I
understand how they feel. This election
the majority of us will not be voting for a candidate, but against one. We will be voting for the person we perceive
as the one who will do the least amount of damage or is the lesser of two
evils. There are those who in good
conscience cannot bring themselves to vote for either the Democratic or
Republican candidate. So what should be
their course of action?
In
the past a protest vote has had little or no impact. I have voted for a third party candidate in
the past and I have not voted. I am a
passionate political animal. I truly
want my choice to win when I pull that lever.
So although it has only happened a few times, I have made the decision
to reject the main stream candidates.
At
the time, I knew that I was throwing away my vote and that my action would have
no impact on that election. This one is
different. Not voting or choosing a
third party candidate will have an impact.
I
would rather see an uninformed voter not vote than one who votes for the sake
of voting. I applaud an informed voter
who cannot vote in good conscience for either candidate. I have no problem with someone choosing to
vote for a third party candidate. That
is their choice.
However,
as I said, this election is different. I
am asking that if you vote for a third party candidate, please be informed
about the candidate you choose. Don’t
vote for them, because you feel you have to vote, but because you genuinely
believe that they are the best person for the job.
Third
party candidates have very little chance of winning an election. However, this year, the margin between the
two candidates could shrink dramatically. A large third party vote could determine which
candidate wins. Please take that into
consideration when you head to the polls.
Keep
in mind that not voting has the same effect, but don’t beat yourself up if you
choose to do so. It is your right. However, if you still feel you have to vote
and can’t make up your mind, try this.
Throw a coin up into the air; heads for Clinton, tails for Trump. Your reaction to the result is your answer.
