this post was submitted on 24 Jan 2024
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58
Americans: Are you going to vote third party or refuse to vote at all? (hexbear.net)
submitted 10 months ago by RamrodBaguette@hexbear.net to c/askchapo@hexbear.net
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I've been debating to myself whether or not voting for a third party candidate (Either PSL's de la Cruz or Green's West, regardless of my criticisms for both) would be the most "effective" use of my time in election season this year. The argument for "not" is that maybe voting at all is bad because it legitimizes this system, even if a third party candidate getting a record turnout would grab more attention (and piss off Blue MAGA cultists) than simply not going since it's not like abysmal turnouts, even by this country's historical standards, are newsworthy at this point. So I guess I have to ask how you people rationalize voting or not this year?

I fully understand that this is more symbolic than anything else and won't materially affect change for a while but it's still something to think about.

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[–] EmmaGoldman@hexbear.net 38 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

They were never going to follow through with it anyway. "vote swappers" never do.

[–] ZoomeristLeninist@hexbear.net 19 points 10 months ago (1 children)

lol im picturing dem party operatives arranging vote swaps w multiple third party supporters, trading their one vote for thousands, and then still voting dem

i was googling vote swapping and apparently the hillary ppl kind of did that

[–] oktherebuddy@hexbear.net 27 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

The message is simple: “Friends don’t let friends protest-vote in swing states.”

as always the only acceptable protests are the ones without any possible effect

(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE)

lmao wtf? did the Seattle times just copy & paste a press release straight from the company?

[–] Ho_Chi_Chungus@hexbear.net 27 points 10 months ago

the term "protest vote" makes me want to punch someone. Fuck you. This candidate represents my interests and yours doesn't. I vote for the candidate that advances my agenda. This is how liberal democracy is "supposed" to work. Run a better platform or eat shit. I owe you nothing

[–] ZoomeristLeninist@hexbear.net 10 points 10 months ago

loool this is so reddit coded

[–] a_blanqui_slate@hexbear.net 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

That's seems unfalsifiable, I've got no reason to think my vote swapping experiences didn't work out.

[–] EmmaGoldman@hexbear.net 15 points 9 months ago (2 children)

No reason to think they would work out either. Would a liberal truly get to the ballot box and actually fill in the communist party candidate's bubble instead of just voting the blue no matter who that's truly in their heart? Is the option to vote for your candidate even really on their ballot? Would it even matter if they wrote the candidate in?

Write-in candidates have to register to even be a write in candidate in many states and most don't do so. In 2020, Gloria LaRiva's PSL ticket was only even on the ballot or a write-in in a grand total of 32 states+DC, putting them 75 electors short of the 270 to win even if they took every single elector in every single state for which they had ballot access.

If you're in a state where you can't even vote for the candidate you want, sure try the swap. But don't put too much faith in liberals following through on promises, they're about as bad at is as their politicians.

[–] frauddogg@lemmygrad.ml 3 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Honestly if they're white libs, I expect them to be lying shitheaps een on shit that doesn't matter; no way in hell would I trust them with smth that actually does

[–] a_blanqui_slate@hexbear.net 1 points 9 months ago

Obviously if it's someone you met on Twitter with "#withHerforever" in their bio, then yeah, no reason at all to trust that they'll follow through.

But if you know someone in real life and trust them, and they have a basic understanding of the electoral colleges functionality (some not a democratic presidential campaign manager), they'd have to have some pretty massive brainworms to break that trust for absolutely no effect.

I vote swapped in 2016, I'm confident they followed through cause I trust who I did it with.