Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 02:03 pm
A common argument made by those who favor the two-party system – or even those who just happen to support one of the major-party nominees – is that voting for a third party candidate is a waste.
“You’re just throwing away your vote,” some will say. “It’s meaningless.”
This argument played out all over social media on Tuesday as Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (finally) endorsed Hillary Clinton, saying he plans to “make certain she will be the next president of the United States.
Even though a new poll shows that 85 percent of his supporters will vote for Clinton in November, there are some who still loudly (and inexplicably) vow to vote for a candidate like Jill Stein, just because Sanders lost the Democratic primary race.
This tweet by columnist H.A. Goodman is a perfect example:
So many people are telling me to WRITE about @DrJillStein and so many people today are excited about https://t.co/NHmgYIu5Fa BERNIE LIVES ON
— H. A. Goodman (@HAGOODMANAUTHOR) July 12, 2016
Whether individuals like this make up one vote or a million, we should be honest when we describe the meaning of their sour-grapes ballot.
Sanders supporters who decide to ignore the wishes of their own candidate and vote third party aren’t committing a meaningless act. They’re helping elect Donald Trump – and that’s about as real and scary as it gets.
It means the past eight years – and, in many ways, the past five decades – are undone by an orange-skinned manchild who hasn’t even shown a basic understanding of public policy. All because their preferred candidate, Bernie Sanders, lost to someone they agree with 80 to 90 percent of the time.
It means no increase in the minimum wage. It means no policies to make college more affordable. It means a tax code that favors millionaires and billionaires. It means having Supreme Court justices who will roll back gay rights and women’s rights. It means imposing an unconstitutional religious test on those wanting to come to the United States. It means building wasteful walls and deporting millions of undocumented immigrants. It means a whole lot of things that no rational American should ever want.
So let’s not understate the importance of our votes in this election.
Bernie Sanders supporters planning to break with their own candidate and support a third party nominee aren’t throwing away their votes. They’re helping send an unfit and unhinged man to the White House.
That’s about as meaningful as it gets.
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