I see your point, but I should say that I agree that it would be better for you to have Harriss than Trump. However, that does not mean you should have voted for her. Dependending on the state you are in, your vote either has no effect on the election at all, or it has only a very very very small chance to decide it. And for as long as it does not decide it it is irrelevant. So even if the benefit of not voting is very small, like keeping your moral integrity or embodying democratic principles or not wasting your time, it is still worth it.
No disagreement here! I’m obviously a fan of practical considerations in casting a vote.
Like I said, swing state here. I wonder what I would have done if I were in one of the darkest blue or red states. Voting for the actual best third party platform would probably be my default for President, but Trump is so bad that I’m not sure how I would approach it.
But everything down the ballot matters too. If one of Trump’s enablers had even a slim chance of victory I would want to vote for their highest polling opponent (within reason, all else being equal, etc).
It’s multiple positions at multiple levels of government. Since you asked, I bet I can quickly find what was in my ballot in November…
President (Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green Party)
Senator (Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, Green Party, Constitution Party)
Attorney General (6 parties represented)
Auditor General (5 parties)
State Treasurer (5 parties)
Representative in Congress (only R and D)
State Senator (only R and D)
State Representative (only R and D)
And all of these would have a line for write-in on the ballot, of course.
So it goes from the president all the way down to the state representative, which is somebody who represents your local district at the state level legislature. So they could very well be a neighbor or a name in the local community.
I see your point, but I should say that I agree that it would be better for you to have Harriss than Trump. However, that does not mean you should have voted for her. Dependending on the state you are in, your vote either has no effect on the election at all, or it has only a very very very small chance to decide it. And for as long as it does not decide it it is irrelevant. So even if the benefit of not voting is very small, like keeping your moral integrity or embodying democratic principles or not wasting your time, it is still worth it.
No disagreement here! I’m obviously a fan of practical considerations in casting a vote.
Like I said, swing state here. I wonder what I would have done if I were in one of the darkest blue or red states. Voting for the actual best third party platform would probably be my default for President, but Trump is so bad that I’m not sure how I would approach it.
But everything down the ballot matters too. If one of Trump’s enablers had even a slim chance of victory I would want to vote for their highest polling opponent (within reason, all else being equal, etc).
And what is down the ballot? Local governors? You don’t just vote for the president in the presidential election?
It’s multiple positions at multiple levels of government. Since you asked, I bet I can quickly find what was in my ballot in November…
President (Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green Party)
Senator (Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, Green Party, Constitution Party)
Attorney General (6 parties represented)
Auditor General (5 parties)
State Treasurer (5 parties)
Representative in Congress (only R and D)
State Senator (only R and D)
State Representative (only R and D)
And all of these would have a line for write-in on the ballot, of course.
So it goes from the president all the way down to the state representative, which is somebody who represents your local district at the state level legislature. So they could very well be a neighbor or a name in the local community.
Wow. Unusal, but I suppose you can do everything at the same time.