Despite the bumper stickers, front yard signs, and passionate rallies, 33% of Republicans are unhappy with Donald Trump and 25% of Democrats are unhappy with Hillary Clinton as their party nominees.
Moreover, according to the New York Times/CBS News poll, at least a quarter of both Democrats and Republicans would use the words “disappointed” or “upset” to describe their feelings about their party’s picks for presidential candidate.
Well, as you probably know, technically anyone who is over the age of 35, was born a natural U.S. citizen, and has lived in the country for at least 14 years can be nominated for president. Put it that way, sure you could have nominated your favorite barista who always gives you a little extra whipped cream; but at this point, you’ll have to wait until 2020 because the votes are in and 28.5% of eligible voters have spoken (yes, you read that right – less than a third of voters cast a ballot in the primaries… sigh).
The media has done a fantastic job of covering our two most-likely potential presidents, but there are couple other musketeers in the mix. The first is named Jill Stein, representing the Green Party and if you had everything you own in a box to the left she’d be in it.
The second is Gary Johnson and he is representing the Libertarian party. If elected, he’d probably have to sit in the middle of the aisle in Congress because he’s split nearly down the center on all political issues.
While Ms. Stein seems lovely, she is only polling 3.7%, which makes it pretty unlikely for her to reach the required 15% by mid-September to qualify for the first Presidential Debate set for Monday, September 26. On the other hand, with Johnson polling 9.3%, he actually might have a chance of crashing the debate.
Here’s the problem: only you, I, and 39% of American voters even know about Johnson. I’ll admit, I only found out about this mystery man because of a nice couple from Chattanooga who, while on a bus in Sweden of all places, asked me unexpectedly, “What do you think of Johnson?”
“I hope that next time someone starts rattling off about the elections, you’ll help empower them with the knowledge that there are more than two candidates, more than two perspectives, more than two choices.”
Yet somehow 92% of voters have already decided on which vote they will cast. That means more than half of Americans are making a voting decision based on incomplete information.
What would you tell a friend who bought the first car they ever saw in their life, at the price listed, without even knowing what other cars existed, their safety ratings, or their price? As Warren Buffet puts it, “Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.”
So more than half of our country has an opinion about their perceived options (remember the 58% of unhappy voters you read about above), but less than half actually know what options they really have.
In all honesty, I did not write this article to try to convince you to vote for Johnson (I don’t even know if I’m voting for Johnson). I know that despite your polled unhappiness, the majority of you have already decided whose name you will tick on election day.
I simply wrote this article because I want every voter to know their options. I hope that next time someone starts rattling off about the elections, you’ll help empower them with the knowledge that there are more than two candidates, more than two perspectives, more than two choices. Even if they get defensive, which they probably will, you’ll know you did a public service by helping us to avoid the biggest risk of all ― uninformed decision making.
We’ve moved on from student government elections people, and it’s no longer cool to tick off only the names you know.
Before You Go
