Let me understate the obvious: This is a contentious election.
Here’s another “duh” observation: A number of voters aren’t sold on either candidate.
Last one: The next President of the United States will likely be a member of one of our two major parties. Like, 99.99% likely.
So some of you have already taken the plunge and cast your ballot because you’ve known who you planned to support for awhile or because you just wanted to get the thing over with. This blog isn’t for you, per se, but read on. You might need it next election season.
Some of you are still trying to figure out what you’re going to do on Tuesday, while others have decided to skip out on the dilemma entirely. Yo. I’m talkin’ to you. You talkin’ to me?…Sorry, bad habit.
You don’t have to vote for one of the two major candidates. Contrary to what you may have heard from well-meaning folks who understand basic math, there is no such thing as a wasted vote.
Unless you’re talking about the one you never bother to cast. That’s a waste. Because freedom. Because democracy. Because flag stickers.
Or an unprincipled vote. That’s a waste. And a darn shame. Especially among principled people who wouldn’t consider it a waste to try to save the life of a seriously handicapped unborn child no matter what the doctor says or to try to provide the necessities of life to those who may never benefit from them or to try to turn the hearts and minds of people who may never stop to listen or to try to overcome any other impossible-odds situation simply because it’s the right thing to do.
I won’t get into a long discussion of the nuances of electoral college voting (electoral votes were once cast for a dead man), or third party candidates and their effect on elections (they matter, especially in heated contests), or the biblical ramifications of going along with the clamor of the crowd (just because God can use it doesn’t mean I should choose it).
I’m just going to say this: Your vote will be counted, it will be recorded, and it will matter because that is a fundamental ideal in our great, messy, sometimes misguided nation. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.
I’ll see you at the polls. I hope. Please.
“Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God.”
Psalm 146:3-5
That’s the Word, and I’m a witness.
For further reading:
http://2016.presidential-candidates.org/?other=other
http://www.infoplease.com/timelines/3rdparties.html
http://www.history.com/news/9-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-electoral-college
Word and Witness 