None of the above...
Whenever the Libertarian Party holds a convention and elects its officers, one of the choices on the ballot is always NOTA, or None Of The Above. It's a perfectly legitimate option.
There may be times when none of the candidates suit your fancy. The Palladium-Item recently selected NOTA in the District 54 race when it made its endorsements for the 2010 general election.
I have been questioned a few times about why Libertarian Party candidates who don't run active campaigns are on the ballot. Sometimes it is to provide an option.
You won't find NOTA on your ballot when you go to vote this November. In most places you will find a Republican and a Democrat, or maybe just a Republican, or maybe just a Democrat. And of course, if you are happy with the way the Republicans and Democrats have been running the government, you probably don't have a problem.
The problem comes if you would like for the Republicans and Democrats to stop spending so much of your money and running so much of you life. Your only option then is to abstain from voting for them. But the problem with that is they don't know why didn't vote for them. It could be that you're not happy with them, or it could be that you were just to busy, or it could be that you just don't care. Either way, they get 100% of the votes that are cast. That's not much of a deterrent.
However, having a Libertarian candidate on the ballot gives people that want a less expensive and less intrusive government a chance to vote for it.
Most Libertarian candidates run active campaigns, and certainly the LP is looking forward to the day when it has grown to the point that in every election, all positions are filled with active candidates.
Until that day arrives, every candidate that runs on the Libertarian ticket, whether that candidate receives 5%, 15%, or 51% of the vote, allows a growing number of voters to say that they believe limited government is a viable option, and that they would like to vote for it.
And then if you're still not happy with the choices, we'll see about getting NOTA on the ballot.
There may be times when none of the candidates suit your fancy. The Palladium-Item recently selected NOTA in the District 54 race when it made its endorsements for the 2010 general election.
I have been questioned a few times about why Libertarian Party candidates who don't run active campaigns are on the ballot. Sometimes it is to provide an option.
You won't find NOTA on your ballot when you go to vote this November. In most places you will find a Republican and a Democrat, or maybe just a Republican, or maybe just a Democrat. And of course, if you are happy with the way the Republicans and Democrats have been running the government, you probably don't have a problem.
The problem comes if you would like for the Republicans and Democrats to stop spending so much of your money and running so much of you life. Your only option then is to abstain from voting for them. But the problem with that is they don't know why didn't vote for them. It could be that you're not happy with them, or it could be that you were just to busy, or it could be that you just don't care. Either way, they get 100% of the votes that are cast. That's not much of a deterrent.
However, having a Libertarian candidate on the ballot gives people that want a less expensive and less intrusive government a chance to vote for it.
Most Libertarian candidates run active campaigns, and certainly the LP is looking forward to the day when it has grown to the point that in every election, all positions are filled with active candidates.
Until that day arrives, every candidate that runs on the Libertarian ticket, whether that candidate receives 5%, 15%, or 51% of the vote, allows a growing number of voters to say that they believe limited government is a viable option, and that they would like to vote for it.
And then if you're still not happy with the choices, we'll see about getting NOTA on the ballot.
Labels: Voting Libertarian
posted by Rex Bell at 2:49 PM
2 Comments:
Best of Luck Rex!
You ran an excellent campaign and as a fellow Libertarian, I am proud of you regardless of the outcome.
Right back atcha, Joe!
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