Thread: Does voting for a third-party candidate equate to throwing your vote away? No!

A lot of people think that if they are Democrats or Republicans and vote for a third-party candidate, they are essentially throwing their vote away to the "other" side. This may be true for some voters but it depends on your state!
Due to the Electoral collage system in the U.S., voters aren't really voting for who will win the presidential race in the nation. Actually, they are voting for who will win the presidential race in their own state. The state then allocates its electors to whichever candidate got the most votes within that state. Those electors go on to vote in the real national election, representing their respective states.
But here's the thing: Many states are never really involved in any given election. Check out theRealClearPolitics map of electoral college votes in 2012. Also try scrolling down to find the FiveThirtyEight map as well. Notice anything? All electoral votes from California and New York will always go to the Democrat with almost 100% certainty. All electoral votes from Texas will always go to the Republican with almost 100% certainty. Your vote stands no chance of changing this. Let me be clear: If you live in California, Texas, or New York, your vote in the presidential election CANNOT affect the outcome, because your state's electors are already locked up.
There's no such thing as "throwing your vote away" in this case because the system has already thrown your vote away. So what can you do? You can vote for a third-party candidate to express your discontent with the existing system that has made your vote meaningless. A third-party candidate isn't going to win in 2012. But votes will still be counted, and they'll still show up in the national results. Traditionally, a high number of votes for third-party candidates has been seen as expressing disappointment in the options offered by the two major parties. If that is how you feel, then that is how you should vote. You won't be throwing your vote away. Voting for something you believe in is never throwing your vote away.

We're still looking for Arkansas patriots willing to help us gather ballot petition signatures to help Mr. Miller get on the ballot in Arkansas. E-mail me at roper_billy@yahoo.com if you can help. Thanks!