They Both Stink

In New York State, it is rarely close enough in a presidential election for one vote to seemingly make a difference. The closest race recently was Bill Clinton's 4 point victory (in a 3 person race) in 1992. This year, I have the chance to make my individual vote count, and not get washed away in a sea of downstate mooches and limousine liberals.

The Federal Elections Commission has certain thresholds for recognizing a political party as legitimate. Ross Perot essentially created the Reform Party from nothing into getting 18% of the popular vote (and 0 Electoral votes) in 1992. In the next two elections, it basically died. This year, another third party may reach that level of public support.

I knew early on that if Donald Trump became the Republican nominee, I was not going to vote for him. He was the subject of one of my earliest blog entries over a decade ago. I also won't vote for Hillary Clinton for a constellation of reasons. So, instead of making an irrational choice or an unreasonable choice, I'm going with neither.

I'm voting for Gary Johnson.

I'm supporting the Libertarian candidate (available on all 50 state ballots) for more reasons than just being the guy who's not the other two. Johnson is a former Republican, and supports the kind of limited government that Republicans who lose nominations believe in. Maybe the GOP has gotten too bloated now. Is it a perfect fit? Maybe not, but it's closer than the others.

Better yet, even if Johnson can't win, every vote counts toward that 15% that gets the libertarian candidate into debates and federal matching money (which a Libertarian might refuse on principle). My vote counts this year.