Interesting discussions have recently taken place among my friends and family members on the topic of voting.
In our conversations we generally dance around naming the presidential candidate for whom we might cast a vote. One day one person might be leaning one way, while being inclined another way the next.
A majority of those friends and family member have pointed out their votes will not be as much a vote for one candidate as it will be a vote against the other.
In other words, there will be a lot of nose-holding at the polls.
(As an aside, the day after the vice-presidential candidates’ debate, there were more than a few comments as to how it’s these two guys who should be running for president, not their would-be bosses. That might a good post-election subject).
Some are considering a third-party candidate. I have heard the argument made that this is either (a) a wasted vote (since there is no way a third-party entrant would be elected) or (b) a vote for Clinton or Trump, depending on where you live.
For example, if you are a resident of Florida, which is considered up for grabs and therefore a “swing state,” a vote for Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party candidate, by one who would generally vote Republican, would take away a vote for Trump and therefore, in essence, be a vote for Clinton (according to this theory).
And vice-versa if it’s a traditional Democrat who votes for Johnson.
Here in Tennessee, which is expected to be carried solidly by Trump, a third-party vote might be intended to carry a message. A person who votes for Johnson (or another third-party candidate) might be saying he/she is fed up with the two-party system, and simply cannot tolerate either of the major party candidates. Rather than not vote, that person might be saying it’s time for a change and he/she will use that vote to communicate that.
Then there are those who are considering not voting at all.
A recent USA Today piece posed this question: “Is it ethical to not vote this year for president?”
The writer, Susan Page, USA Today’s Washington Bureau Chief, never really answers the question, but points out how different this election is from ones in recent memory. Concerns about Trump’s lack of experience, lack of a filter and simply not knowing what he might say or do next have infiltrated the GOP.
Case in point: notable Republicans, including George H. W. Bush and son Jeb, and 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney, have not only declined to endorse Trump — they have said they won’t vote for him.
Such defections are not as prominent for Clinton. However, even though primary challenger (and irritant) Bernie Sanders has endorsed her, his supporters are not joining the bandwagon, and were hardly enthusiastic at the Democratic convention. Who is to say what they might do at the voting booth, or whether they will vote at all?
Page says “concerns about Clinton, including questions about her honesty and trustworthiness, have complicated the calculations by some voters about just whom to support.”
She asks pointedly, “When both major-party candidates get negative ratings from most Americans, will most voters just stay home?”
Page quotes a number of scholars and pundits in her piece, including Michael Dimmock, president of the non-partisan Pew Research Center, who said “fear is a pretty big motivator,” opining that fear of a Clinton or Trump presidency might be what causes a person with disdain for both candidates to go ahead and cast that “against” vote.
Similarly, Michael McDonald, political scientist at the University of Florida and head of the “United States Election Project,” was quoted by Page as saying, “My guess is people are going to be activated to vote against these candidates,” saying while they make not like the candidate of their party, “they certainly don’t like the other party’s candidate.”
I would add to that the crossover voters such as the aforementioned GOP stalwarts who can’t stomach their own party’s candidate (Trump) and might be voting for Clinton or for one of the third-party contenders.
And from my own completely informal and unscientific survey, I find similar comments from Democrats, but I don’t know any of them who will vote for Trump. They will either go with a third-party or, if they can’t make themselves vote for Clinton, stay home.
For another “for what it’s worth” comment, I will say that, in the past, I would have very likely judgmentally scoffed at someone choosing not to vote.
But not this year. I’m still pretty much undecided about that myself.
Bob McKinney is a longtime Brentwood resident, husband of one, father of three and father-in-law of two. Email him at bmac1018@yahoo.com.