Wasting My Vote

     It’s an accusation I’ve been hearing a lot lately, almost always the first response when I reveal that I probably won’t be voting for either of the two options put before me this election.

     “You’re just wasting your vote.” 

     Being told that I’m throwing my vote away is a pretty offensive thing.  Not because I’m super-sensitive or easily offended, but because my vote is something that’s really important to me.  I place a lot of value on my vote, and absolutely hate to be told that what I’m doing with it is a waste.  Even so, I know I can’t be too upset.  After all, four years ago, I would have agreed. 

     The underlying suggestion here is that there is a “right” way to vote (for one of the top two candidates), and any other way is unwise and pointless.  I disagree.  This election year, I will be voting third party.  I’ve thought long about this choice, and it does have a point.  In fact, I believe that using my vote this way makes it the most valuable.  

     I’m a registered (though maybe not your average) Republican, and this election year is a tough one for me.  As many of you know, I strongly supported Ron Paul as the Republican candidate this year.  I won’t use this entry to explain why, but I still believe he would have been the best choice for our party and our country.  But we’ll have to look back in regret later.  It was clear months ago that he would not be the candidate listed next to that beloved “R” on the ballot.

     But the choice to vote third party shouldn't just appeal to Ron Paul supporters.  I can’t begin to count all the people I know who were disappointed with the nomination for the Republican candidate.  You know who you are.  Or rather, who you were.  Over the past couple of months, I have watched my entire Midwestern-Christian-Conservative-Republican social circle go from just short of swearing not to vote for Romney, to having his bumper stickers on backorder.  Well, sorry, but I’m not following suit.  As you could probably guess, I don’t think you should either. 

    Here’s why I will be voting third party this year:

1.) Same song, different tune.  This reason is listed first because it’s the biggest reason for my decision.  Mitt Romney and Barack Obama differ on their methodology, but share the underlying belief that government should have authority that I don’t believe they should have.  They both support unconstitutional taxation, immoral wars, and dangerous meddling in our financial system.  They share the same basic beliefs that say, “The government knows best.”  They give government the power to make decisions that we should be making for ourselves.  Both candidates are headed further away from the personal liberty that I believe in.  They’re just taking different paths in the same direction.

2.) The pendulum will keep swinging.  It may only be my second chance to vote for president, but I can already see the pattern.  We elect a Republican, he frustrates us in one way or another, and we elect a Democrat.  Repeat.  If you’re freaking out that Obama might get reelected and destroy the country in the next four years, rest assured, the Republicans will get another turn soon.

3.)  You’re still voting for evil.  This one really gets me.  We’ve all lamented that we are forced to choose the lesser of two evils on election day.  I hear that phrase used especially by my Christian friends.  It just blows my mind that you could actually say that and be ok with it.  You are admitting that you feel that you’re voting for evil.  And you honestly think that’s the right thing to do.  I’m not sure I’m comfortable going so far as to call the candidates evil (though I certainly feel their actions have been quite immoral at times) but so many people do, and right before voting to put them in office, none-the-less.  I don’t want to vote for evil at all, even if it is the “lesser” one.

4.)  My vote won’t decide it.  I’ll admit, this argument is kind of weak as a whole, but quite true at present.  My vote has no chance of deciding who will be president this term.  Neither does yours.  Missouri is not much of a battleground to begin with.  Even if it were, the statistics for how much one vote affects the outcome are pretty ridiculous.  The idea that by not voting for one of the two main candidates I am really helping the other get elected is just not very true. 

5.) I’ve got bigger plans.  Many of my Republican friends seem to feel that the only objective should be to get Obama out of office.  I can relate to that wish, but I think the true solution is a much bigger reform.  As I’ve already said, I think that the person in office next term is rather arbitrary in the big picture.  Voting for a third party candidate is a more effective way to move toward the long term changes that we need.

    Know this, I haven’t written out these points because I think they’re a brick wall of reasoning, which proves I’m right.  In fact, I’ve heard arguments to all of them.  Some of them make a lot of sense.  But, in the end, I’ve thought a lot about what I believe government should be,  and what my moral duty is to my country, and the most effective way to use my vote, and this is where I’ve landed.  I think that not voting for the mainstream choices that are being forced on us, is a stronger and more powerful vote than anything. 

     If I vote for Obama or Romney, all I’m saying is that I’ll keep playing the game.  I’ll keep begrudgingly filling in the circle next to the guy that my party picked for me.  I’ll fill out a ballot for a guy I don’t even want to see in office, who I don’t even believe is a good choice for president.  Doesn’t that seem absurd?

     This is the year I start voting for someone whose ideals I actually believe in.  I know that in 2012, I will not vote for the man who will become president.  But I’m proud of that vote, because one day, I want to vote for the candidate who will become president, and feel proud of that vote, and of the REAL change that will happen in our country.  If that day doesn’t come in my lifetime, I’ll be proud of my vote because I gave it to someone who deserves it.  

     This is the part where I ask you to do same.  You don’t have to believe the lie that you MUST vote for your party’s choice.  You don’t  have to follow the crowd.  The rich kids don’t get to tell you who to like. Use your vote to say something more.

     This year, I’m using my one little dot to say, “Count me out.”  I’ll be standing proudly over here in the 2% of voters who are waiting for a better option.  Maybe, if we all stop believing that’s a wasted vote, maybe we’ll have 5%.  Then 10%.  Now THAT”S enough to decide an election.  Maybe that will be enough to wake the establishment and make some real changes.  Maybe one day I can fill in the dot next to someone who might really have a chance to win, and feel good about it.  Until then, I’ll be voting my conscience, regardless of the “chances of winning.”  We don't have to be on the winning team to do the right thing.

     I hope some of you will feel compelled to join me in using your vote differently this year.  We need more people who are willing to stand over here and wait for a better option.  Don’t waste your vote.