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If you are in a deep red state, it will seem that your vote won’t matter. Because it mostly won’t. However, the way States vote changes over time. The closer the vote totals in a State, the more likely the National Democratic Party is to invest resources into building up and promoting candidates in those States. That sort of thing can shift the needle, if slowly. Keep in mind that California voted Republican from '68 to '88 (source) but shifted over time.
It sucks to vote and feel like you’re just pissing in the wind. But, each vote moves the needle just a bit more and maybe, eventually, things will swing.
Using that argument, can’t you shift the needle even more by voting for someone more left than Biden?
No, because your vote won’t encourage investment in flipping the State. I agree that the current duopoly sucks. I was an ardent Bernie supporter and would very much like viable third parties. But, the DNC isn’t going to be looking at those third party votes. They need to believe that the Democrats have a chance of winning before they will invest in a State. If all they see are protest votes, then they won’t see a viable path to them winning and they will continue to ignore the State.
Ya, it sucks, but we really do need to just keep holding our nose and pulling the lever for the Democrat in the general election.
Disagree. If many vote for an extreme eco warrior independent candidate then both parties will shift their policies to appeal to those voters.
Americans don’t need to vote for winners for their vote to count.
“Pissing in the wind” is such a great phrase
maybe in the primaries but this would be like not voting at all.
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When people say that, they mean a person who would have voted for trump. Instead voting rfk.
If you were never voting trump, you vote can’t be taken away because it was never voting for trump to begin with
the answer you are looking for the opportunity has already passed this year but is useful in the next election.
What you ate looking for is to vote tactically. Vote republican in the in the primary and choose weak republican candidates then vote democratic in the general.
This strategy worked well in 2016!
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Republicans can’t vote in Democratic primaries and vice versa.
No, it’s better for you to vote for Biden and convince Trumpers to vote for RFK. You want those who vote for Trump to vote for RFK for a spoiler effect
That is an order, not an explanation.
Because of our garbage voting system, any vote not going to the top two candidates is the same as scribbling over that section of the ballot. If your goal is to not have Donald win, you want to add as many votes as you can for the other of the top two candidates.
The only way a vote for RFK would help prevent Donald is if it were coming from someone who otherwise certainly would have voted for Donald. Even then the ideal is that they vote for an opponent who has a chance of winning.
That’s not true. Voting third party helps get them funding and ballot access. If your vote for president won’t change anything, then vote for the most utility.
No third party will ever be viable until FPTP is removed. No funding will change that. Source: basically every single election.
The funding gives them visibility though. Without third parties that people know and might vote for, there would be no additional challengers to point to when arguing for ranked choice voting or anything else. If there are no Green, Libertarian, Constitution voters, then FPTP loses a good portion of its luster.
Additionally, if enough people vote 3rd party, the big two may shift to win those voters back. We saw an interesting situation with the Libertarians and the Republicans this time around where the Libertarians weren’t going to primary a candidate against the Republican if the Republican met certain qualifications. If the Democrats lose even a percentage point to the greens in a tight race, they can possibly get that voter back by representing their interests to show that they are also green.
Having said all that, I agree that FPTP is a big problem and is strongly contributing to the toilet bowl death spiral American politics is experiencing.
I was talking about benefits to vote for them. Those were non-election uses of voting third party.
A vote for RFK is one less vote for Trump. A vote for Biden is twice that
Kennedy is only on the ballot in 14 states, so first, it’s unlikely he’ll be on your ballot.
Alaska, California, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah.
Where can you add names to the ballot?
Each state has their own process, generally you have to submit enough signatures.
They also have their own deadlines… beyond which signatures are not accepted.
No. Vote Biden.
No because RFK is a fucking joke - When states are called solid “red” or “blue” they’re usually 60+% in favor of a party. More people in your state are voting for Biden than RFK so if you’re hoping to flip your state vote for the democrat.
I feel like in most states, non-voters overwhelm the difference between the two candidates. Vote s d find a friend to vote with.
If you want Biden to win vote for Biden. Jesus fucking Christ.
Gaming primaries is a ~potentially valid~ idea but in what world do you think voting for the other candidate in a winner-takes-all election would help your desired candidate win?
I mean statistically in a state THAT red your there will never be enough blue votes to overcome the stupidity of the rural class, so it may not matter. Still voting for the off brand inside a 2 party system is a very bad habit to encourage. Just vote for Biden.
America will always be a 2 party system. But a different party could replace one of the existing parties.
If that were the case anymore, it would’ve happened after the 1912 election when Theodore Roosevelt’s Progressive party got more votes (27.4%) and electors (88) than the Republican Taft (23.2% of the vote and 8 electors). But it didn’t. Things went back to normal after that. That was also the election where the Socialist party gained the most votes (6% of the vote and 0 electors).
The Republicans and Democrats are here to stay until our voting system is overhauled.
Georgia proved that wrong last election. Imagine if out of nowhere Texas voted blue due to all the abortion bans, Republicans would shit themselves.
Well, the largest group in Texas is Latinos… idk how many of them can vote and how mant would actually vote blue though.
Depends…Which state you are living in. The state I am currently stationed at does not allow write in because it is all comuterrised.
You’re not going to affect the outcome so cast whatever vote makes sleep the happiest.
There won’t be any realistic possibility of swaying the R primary.
Best hope we have is to get as many people onboard with Blue No Matter Who in the general.
swaying the R primary.
Wait. They have those?
They did 8 years ago, and they don’t have an incumbent again.
They do, and they’re more democratic than the democrats, which is how Trump won in 2016 in the first place.
Shit. I won’t argue with that.
I fucking hate that this is where we are. And yet, this is the reality we are in.
