Do you think a vote for anything other than a Republican or Democrat in a presidential election is a waste?

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Do you think a vote for anything other than a Republican or Democrat in a presidential election is a waste?

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Contributor: Petite Valentine Petite Valentine
It looks like the Libertarian Party is going to throw their weight behind Gary Johnson for the presidential election. Like Ross Perot and Ralph Nader before him, he has a snowball's chance in hell of winning. However, the Libertarian Party is touting that he can be a spoiler in the 2012 election:

Gov. Gary Johnson Could Cost Romney 5 Battleground States, 74 Electoral Votes Needed to Win in 2012

Do you think a vote for anything other than a Republican or Democrat in a presidential election is a waste? (multiple choice)
Answers (private voting - your screen name will NOT appear in the results):
It's a waste, only a Republican or Democrat has a chance to win.
20
I vote for the best candidate regardless of party affiliation.
14
I vote for the best candidate regardless of his/her chances of winning.
8
I'd rather not vote at all, than vote for someone with no chance of winning.
4
Third party candidates are a viable option, and given time will have a better chance at the presidency.
17
Third party candidates only serve to 'spoil' presidential elections.
1
Other
5
Llamas in 2012!
16
Total votes: 85 (56 voters)
Poll is closed
08/19/2012
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Contributor: Sammi Sammi
The first time Ross Perot ran, I think he had a fairly decent chance - he did get a surprisingly large % of the votes - what hurt him were several things, one of which being people didn't think he'd win even if they voted for him, so they didn't, which was tremendously unfortunate.

Where the problem comes in today, I think, is that the non Republican/Democratic candidate isn't nearly as well known, if they are, they aren't liked (Nader), or really do have a snowball's chance in hell, so voting for them really does end up voting for the "other party."
08/19/2012
Contributor: 31 Flavors 31 Flavors
I think a vote for any of the candidates is a waste. I still vote, though; it's too precious a priveldge.
08/19/2012
Contributor: KrissyNovacaine KrissyNovacaine
I think that everyone needs to stop worrying about it and just vote for their favorite candidate.
08/19/2012
Contributor: SecretKinksters SecretKinksters
Jesse Venture (ex-pro wrestler & actor) ran for governor of Minnesota years back, no one thought he had a chance. But as it turned out he won the election...I believe when he won he was just as, if not more, surprised than anyone else in the state.

I thought it was great when he ran, it got a lot of young people out to vote, he had some "fresh" ideas...and to see the look on the other candidates faces when they lost was PRICELESS!

Vote for who you want in office, not for who everyone else wants...Its your vote, not theirs!!!!!!!!!!!
08/19/2012
Contributor: ThoughtsAblaze ThoughtsAblaze
The first time I voted four years ago, I did so with my folks and we had a great conversation about this topic. They thought I was throwing away my third party vote because there was no way a third candidate could win. They advocated the "vote for the lesser of two evils" case, which drives me bonkers. There is no lesser evil: a bad candidate is a bad candidate, and if our reigning two-party political system cannot offer me a viable option, then I should not have to choose from bad apples. I made the case that the best way I could share that dissatisfaction was by choosing a third party candidate. My person might not win, but as more people vote for a third option and the statistics increase for people NOT voting Democrat or Republican, then we may be able to signal our unhappiness with the system. Maybe--with much time and effort--the system will change.

(Granted, four years later I'm complete mystified by the system, believe that corporate America has rendered the average citizen a political mute and wonder whether voting in general is a huge waste. But I still pull for the best candidate, regardless of party.)
08/19/2012
Contributor: clockwork451 clockwork451
I think that at some point in the future parties apart from the Dems and the Repubs will rise in popularity.
08/19/2012
Contributor: spunkmonkey spunkmonkey
A vote for someone who shares your values is never a waste. You need to vote for whoever you feel can fix this country.
08/19/2012
Contributor: Gunsmoke Gunsmoke
Quote:
Originally posted by Sammi
The first time Ross Perot ran, I think he had a fairly decent chance - he did get a surprisingly large % of the votes - what hurt him were several things, one of which being people didn't think he'd win even if they voted for him, so they ... more
Ross Perot made sure that Bill Clinton got elected and that was his plan. He hated the Bush family. If you remember when it started to look like he might win - he started doing goofy stuff to lose enough support to ensure failure.

I'm not talking conspiracy theory - just a simple vendetta.
08/20/2012
Contributor: Gunsmoke Gunsmoke
It is a waste of time if your intent is to help decide who becomes president.

But as others have said - voting your conscious has merit. It's like voting none-of-the-above, except your saying whether you are more liberal or more conservative than the main-stream candidate.
08/20/2012
Contributor: lineswecast lineswecast
It's a waste in the sense that they are not going to win this election (or one in the near future). It doesn't matter as much if you don't live in a swing state, though - I wouldn't ever vote for a third party in that case.
08/20/2012
Contributor: Terri69 Terri69
I don't believe a third party would ever win
08/20/2012
Contributor: ksparkles16 ksparkles16
I feel bad saying that a vote is a waste...anyone can surely vote for anybody they want! You can write in Mickey Mouse if you want. But, if you want your vote to really count then vote for a dem or republican...they have the biggest shot to win.
08/20/2012
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
I guess I've always looked at it that a vote for a third party candidate is one vote less for a Republican or a Democrat...maybe I'm wrong in that line of thinking, but I'd rather vote my conscious than vote for the "lesser of two evils".
08/20/2012
Contributor: Beck Beck
I won't go into conspiracy theories, but I don't believe any of our votes count. They do what they want. However, it's important to vote because it's our right. I don't feel it makes a difference at all.
08/20/2012
Contributor: Kitka Kitka
I hate politics. Go llamas!
08/20/2012
Contributor: sweetiejo sweetiejo
I try to vote based off of who I like, but the problem is our contry is so divided based off of ruublican or democrat that I know that it won't matter unless the person is a member of one of those parties.
08/20/2012
Contributor: Chilipepper Chilipepper
It's not a waste - if I don't believe in the Big Two's platforms, I'm not going to vote for them. I vote with my conscience, not to be part of a crowd.

Besides, the third-parties hardly ever get any air time or press, which I think is the main reason no one takes them seriously as contenders. Mobs vote for whomever makes the most noise that appeals to their fear and ego.

Prove them wrong.

Llama/Llama 2012
"Because It's Time"
08/20/2012
Contributor: - Kira - - Kira -
Last election I was pregnant. Like, really about to pop pregnant. As I'll only vote for someone I really believe in, which tends to be Libertarian, I opted not to vote. Standing for an hour on swollen feet to vote for someone who wasn't gonna win seemed like a waste of my time. I was on bed rest at the time, too. Wasn't risking my kid just to throw a vote away.

This year I'll be more likely to vote, again probably Libertarian. I still feel like I'm a wasted vote though.
08/20/2012
Contributor: Incendiaire Incendiaire
It's more of a waste to vote for someone you don't like, just because you think the person you do like hasn't a chance of winning. So long as everyone keeps doing this politics will always be dominated by this broken two party system, where politicians can do whatever they like by manipulating the public into such a narrow choice.
08/20/2012
Contributor: Beck Beck
Quote:
Originally posted by - Kira -
Last election I was pregnant. Like, really about to pop pregnant. As I'll only vote for someone I really believe in, which tends to be Libertarian, I opted not to vote. Standing for an hour on swollen feet to vote for someone who wasn't ... more
Haha! last election, I was in the hospital because I just delivered.
08/20/2012
Contributor: Allstars316 Allstars316
it is a waste.
08/20/2012
Contributor: G&L G&L
Its not a waste in theory, but in practice I prefer to choose from the two major parties.
08/20/2012
Contributor: Bignuf Bignuf
Quote:
Originally posted by Petite Valentine
It looks like the Libertarian Party is going to throw their weight behind Gary Johnson for the presidential election. Like Ross Perot and Ralph Nader before him, he has a snowball's chance in hell of winning. However, the Libertarian Party is ... more
To vote for someone who really has zero statistical chance of a win accomplishes two things. 1. Throws away my vote and 2. Possibly helps the candidate I LEAST want in office to win. Either way, I LOSE. Not acceptable. I vote for a WIN.
08/20/2012
Contributor: kitty1949 kitty1949
It's hard to say. I'm 50/50 on this one.
08/20/2012
Contributor: gsfanatic gsfanatic
It's not throwing it away. If the people who didn't vote went for a candidate, it'd let them win. Besides, only having 2 choices means sometimes you have people who vote based on "lesser evil"
08/20/2012
Contributor: Sammi Sammi
Ah, never vote for the "lesser evil"
08/20/2012
Contributor: RatchetS RatchetS
Quote:
Originally posted by ThoughtsAblaze
The first time I voted four years ago, I did so with my folks and we had a great conversation about this topic. They thought I was throwing away my third party vote because there was no way a third candidate could win. They advocated the "vote ... more
Here Here!! I totally agree. When I was younger, I thought there was no point in voting because my state is mainly republican and no matter what I do my state's electoral votes will go to Romney. I will show my unhappiness in the two party system, by voting for a third party candidate.
08/20/2012
Contributor: SkylarrStarr SkylarrStarr
One should vote for the candidate who shares one's beliefs. It is the right so many of us, particularly minorities have fought for. If one does not vote, then one's voice is not heard, and that candidate is deprived a chance on making a difference.
08/21/2012
Contributor: amazon amazon
Third party candidates usually aren't viable, and haven't been since the 20's. Hopefully that will change one day.
08/21/2012