Recently I have been attempting to examine more deeply the presidential candidates of the smaller parties, mostly Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson as well as the Green Party candidate Jill Stein. After reading over online news articles for a few months now, I have come to predict that there will be quite a significant turn out of 3rd party voters this November, something that has received little to no attention in the main stream media. Many voters have attempted to justify their decision for either Mitt Romney or Barack Obama as voting for whoever they believe to be the “lesser of two evils”, and stating that any vote for a 3rd party candidate is a wasted vote. This made me reflect further and come to the conclusion that the only wasted votes are those of individuals who casts their ballot for a candidate they don’t even agree with.
Third party candidates allow for more niche votes than broader parties like the Republican and Democrat parties, which garner more votes based on their broader appeal. That appeal stems less from ideological consistency and focuses more on what will grow their voting base, regardless of whether or not it conflicts with other platform issues. Many potential voters question the validity of third party candidates due to the lack of coverage by the media before realizing the obvious party biases held by most networks.
I would like to wrap this up by asking if you are one of the many citizens tired of the corruption seen in the two-party system, or perhaps you don’t fit exactly in with the views of either Democrats or Republicans? If you are one of these people, I strongly encourage you to look into candidates outside of the two major parties and educate yourself on the smaller parties’ platforms. Finally, if you like what you see in one of these parties, I urge you to vote your conscience and not be swayed by the “lesser of two evils” argument.
Thought provoking.