Friday, July 29, 2016

A Vote for the Other Side?

This is an honest non-partisan question: Why does each side in the U.S. Presidential election claim that a vote for a 3rd-party or independent candidate is actually a vote for the other side? I recall hearing this same refrain in previous elections. I have no particular agenda here, and I look forward to learning from your comments. Thank you!
Posted by at

6 comments:

  1. jnelsonjennings@gmail.comJuly 29, 2016 at 3:44 PM

    To attempt one answer to my own question, I guess the claim is often made to hearers who share the speaker's political leanings....

    ReplyDelete
  2. Allen StoutJuly 29, 2016 at 3:45 PM

    I'm curious about the answer as well. I'll be voting for a 3rd party this time, and I don't buy the argument that my vote aids one of the main 2 candidates...

    ReplyDelete
  3. WesJuly 29, 2016 at 7:39 PM

    Isn't it just a ploy by candidates to get their supporters to actually get out and vote....for them?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. jnelsonjennings@gmail.comJuly 29, 2016 at 8:30 PM

      Yeah, we all often unwittingly (or consciously) concoct arguments simply to persuade others to do what we want them to do, don't we?

      Delete
  4. LarryJuly 29, 2016 at 7:59 PM

    I was met by this argument from someone recently - you actually hear it from both sides; so as I researched the issue, I thought these two articles were informative. I think the argument is made because not voting for a particular candidate does mean that candidate will have fewer total votes - but it really ISN'T a vote for the other candidate. Also, the argument is made without really thinking through its lack of statistical logic. It's sometimes just an emotional argument, lacking in real substance. Hope these links work.

    http://www.dailywire.com/news/3960/no-failing-vote-trump-isnt-vote-hillary-ben-shapiro

    http://www.redstate.com/leon_h_wolf/2016/06/03/vote-nevertrump-vote-hillary/

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)