Three’s not a crowd
By Jessica Sierocki, Photojournalist.
Politics is not my strongest subject. However, I do know the basics. Democrats and Republicans are the two major political parties and are on complete opposite sides of the political spectrum. Voters have the option to choose the best candidates they think will represent their interests from either party. But what if your best interests aren’t represented by the Democrat or Republican candidates? What do you do if you fall somewhere in the middle, not vote? Millennials already have a low turnout at the polls, so maybe there’s another way to have our voices heard.
When we hear the term “third party,” a general reaction would be to immediately shy away. Voting for third party candidates has always been an option. But I know your thinking. Why vote for a candidate who isn’t going to win, right? Why should I waste my vote?
Well, voting for third parties is not a waste of your vote. Voting for a third party is more than just a vote. It’s a statement. When voters write-in candidates they want to see in office, it sends the message to political officials that voters are not happy with those who are currently representing them.
The purpose of voting is to bring changes we want to see. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to live in a world where the government starts taking people our age seriously? We have certain views that don’t belong all the way to the right or to the left. We want to be represented just as much as older adults want millennials to vote. No vote is wasted. Yes, it’ll take a while for any kind of change to permanently take place, but we have years. We’re not going anywhere anytime soon. Voting for third party candidates might just be a solution we’ve been looking for.
Vote your morals
By Cameron Kerkau, Managing Editor.
I’ve been struggling with the idea of voting third party this election. On the one hand it seems like a no-brainer, neither the Democratic or Republican nominee seem fit for the job. One is too stupid and the other is too evil. But between the two of them there is definitely one that I feel would be a worse choice than the other. I don’t know if I could vote for a candidate that I don’t believe in, but I’m afraid that voting third-party could lead to the worst possible outcome.
George Bush won the 2000 election because the Democratic vote was split between Al Gore and Ralph Nader. I’m not sure if it’s worth it to make a statement with my vote if it’s going to lead to a similar outcome this year. Then again, this whole season has been nothing but surprises, so maybe it’s futile to try and foresee the outcome anyway.
I haven’t decided who to vote for yet. There doesn’t seem to be a right answer. I could vote third-party to avoid voting for two human beings that I hate, but unless some kind of miracle occurs, one of those two are going to win anyway (and probably the one that I hate the most). So I could use my vote on the lesser of two evils, but then I’m still voting for evil. I think the only thing left to ask myself at this point is which vote will help me sleep better at night. After all, this election isn’t looking like it’s going to end well for anybody.
