this post was submitted on 09 Oct 2023
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United States | News & Politics
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My state will vote for the R candidate regardless, and we proved that in 2016 and 2020 (20+% spread). I thought there was a small chance that enough moderate Rs in my state would flip for 2020 to matter, but that didn't happen.
So I have no reason to vote for the "lesser of two evils" here, so I'll vote my conscience. I cannot vote for Biden again because he's just too old, and I will not vote for Trump for obvious reasons, so I'll vote for one of the third parties or independents. It will not change the outcome of the election regardless, so it's mostly just signaling.
I'd say you highlighted one of the points right there though... your argument is that it's inevitable because the spread is so large and that's defeating to you, yet you aren't going to vote to help close the gap so that you and others can potentially turn the tide.
I 100% identity with the frustration, but it's a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Ranked choice voting would be helpful for your situation. Personally, my partner and I considered our votes when we moved several years ago. We looked at a few purple counties that could go blue eventually. We chose a place we loved~~~~ and within three elections we were a part of a movement that flipped our county blue for the first time in over 20 years. It's not instantaneous, but it's possible. You just need to play the longer game to have a chance.
I hope you find the approach that works for you, but I encourage you to consider the power that you could have in helping to close that gap - maybe it doesn't get your ideal outcome in the next few elections, but it could give the next generation the courage to feel like it's in reach. To feel like they could go against the easy path prescribed (or even mandated) by their parents and flip the mess their parents and grandparents created.
I do vote, I just tend to vote for third parties. The R candidate wins with ~60% of the vote almost every election, so even if every third party voter supported the second-place candidate, the R candidate would still win. So whether I vote D or a third party is immaterial, the results are the same.
Sure, though I personally prefer STAR or Approval Voting (I push for Approval, but prefer STAR). If it comes up as a ballot measure, I'll vote for it. If a candidate runs on that as a platform, I'll vote for them. But AFAIK, nobody in my state pushes for it in their campaign, and they submit a bill every few years that doesn't go anywhere because there's not a lot of energy behind it. We had a pilot program with RCV (which I supported), but again, it didn't go anywhere.
So yes, I absolutely want an alternative to FPTP.
If I really wanted to get involved more, I'd run for office to raise awareness, and I probably wouldn't run on the D ticket (I'm not a Democrat, more of a left-leaning Libertarian, and that honestly probably has a better chance in my area). But I have young kids and a full-time job, so that's just not feasible at this point. But I do want to run against my state rep because that seat has been unopposed for as long as I've lived here (~10 years now). I don't expect much to happen though, since fed seats usually go to the R candidate with >70% of the vote, and anywhere I'd actually want to live is similar (the only blue areas are downtown or in resort-y areas).
Yeah, I plan to get more involved once my kids get more independent.
But the fact of the matter is, my individual ballot does not matter so I vote my conscience instead of for the lesser of two evils. I hope that small effort shows someone in my State Legislature that interest in third parties is enough to warrant looking into voting reform.