Does it REALLY matter? YES!
But will they become the next president? No.
But HOW does it matter; matters A LOT. I’ll explain why.
I speak as a New Yorker. New York is a safe state. Swing states will differ in the strategy. Swing states are states that do not have a general history of one party being stronger than the other. The opposite of a swing state is a safe state where you will find that historically, one party is favored. My opinion is these swing states are going to have to vote for the lesser of two evils, as the old cliché goes. As for the safe states, we have the wiggle room to help fund the third party.
When you file your taxes, there is a tick mark that asks for a $3 donation to the President Election Campaign Fund (PEC). In order to qualify for this fund, for a minor party, a minor candidate must gain 5-25% of the popular vote in at least 20 states. There are 11-12 swing states. So that leaves us with 38 states. If we build momentum in those 38 states for the third party, this may mark the start of a significant change in our duopoly party system. Change is not going to happen because they all decide they want to or should be fair. Change only happens when people are outraged and demand reform! It is in the nature of our country that revolution is what causes change. I say, we should reflect that with our ballots. It matters, in this instance, your individual vote matters.
I voted for Bernie in the primaries and I wish he was one of my choices. He has called upon his supporters to vote for Hillary but to vote with your conscience. I will strategically, as a revolutionary, vote third party (with my conscience). I will hold Hillary accountable as so will many others. I was on the fence with Trump for a very short while, trying to give him an unbiased fair chance, being the independent that I am. He has awful rhetoric and if I was to not count that against him (for some that may be a very hard thing to do but for argument sake, bear with me), he could have represented the anti-establishment that so many people want and need. BUT I think, we will not be able to hold him accountable because what does he have to lose? His political career that he doesn’t care for? He is the much bigger evil.
In safe states, we need some third party votes, so we can increase their funding and swing states vote for someone we can hold accountable. If you dont want to vote for ANY president, help flip the senate.
What do you think?