I’m tired of the third party vote being pointless. Even a
conservative vote in California and other ‘locked’ states is like throwing your
presidential ballot in the trash. How is that supposed to give us a good
feeling of our representative democracy? How are we supposed to feel like we
make a difference and matter?
I think this lack of impact directly relates to voter
enthusiasm and engagement. People don’t care because it doesn’t really matter;
their vote, different than the majority, is a waste in states that don’t swing
politically. This doesn’t make for a good system that involves the people but
then that’s exactly what the government wants; they’d rather continue
lack-luster participation and allow their controllable representatives to rule
our Republic. There’s even talk regarding abolishment of the seventeenth
amendment, which allowed voters to select their senators instead of state
legislatures; your voter impact could very well be further diminished around
you.
The third party vote is too often dismissed and it shouldn’t
be. It shouldn’t just serve as an eventual guide on popular policies for the
two-party system; there should be a legitimate fear that a third party
candidate might win but we don’t have that, not at the local level and not on a
national level. We’re not even close.
Every vote should count, every vote should matter; in every
state, your voice should be heard but it’s drowned out in states with rigid
political leanings. Perhaps it will all go to bunk with a direct democracy
approach but at least it will be a bunk of our own design and choosing; a bunk
where we all had a say in how terrible we’ve made our situation. Our
representatives are doing no better at creating this terrible nation for us.
