As Election Day nears, we’re being inundated with the usual predictions of voter apathy, rife with speculation that vast numbers of Americans will simply sit out the balloting.
One key reason for such apathy, I believe, is because we have been conditioned by the two major parties to think that we are wasting our vote if we do not cast it for either the Republican or Democratic candidates. But nothing can be further from the truth.
Trust me, if an unexpectedly large number of voters shows up at the polls, no matter whom they vote for, it’s going to get the attention of the public servants, And you can bet that they are going to be far more responsive to an electorate that has demonstrated an interest in the political process.
It is in the wake of low voter turnouts that the politicians tend to raise taxes or otherwise undertake unpopular measures. That is because they are secure in their knowledge that, no matter how great our indignation, many of us won’t bother to act on it.
Even if you have no great enthusiasm for Al Gore or George W. Bush, don’t let that keep you out of the voting booth on Nov. 7. Vote your conscience and cast a ballot for Green Party candidate Ralph Nader, or Pat Buchanan of the Reform Party, John Hagelin of the Natural Law Party, Libertarian Harry Browne, Constitution candidate Howard Phillips or Socialist David McReynolds. All of these nominees are either on the ballot or else are eligible as a write-in.
The only wasted vote is the one that is not cast.
