The Case for Casting a Losing Vote (Part One)

A Bit of Biography

We are days away from an election that, by all measures, is up for grabs. Election night will be a wild time, with plenty of upsets, I expect. Until then, we will be forced to endure relentless attack ads, press conferences, and friends on social media telling us that we must—must I tell you!—vote for this or that candidate.

I assume that most of us are fairly settled by this point; we know how we’ll cast our ballot. Nonetheless, I’d like to make a case for thinking a bit differently about this election.

First, some backstory.

2016

I started paying attention deeply to politics in 2016. I voted before then, but the choices were fairly simple, to my young mind. I chose the lesser of two evils and was done with it. But 2016 was a different animal. That year, I found myself with two bad options, for different reasons. I could not, in good conscience support a Democratic platform that so eagerly protected pro-choice interests, nor could I support a Republican candidate who was morally repugnant. So I voted third party.

I quickly discovered that I was in a distinct minority.

In 2016 the criticisms were primarily grounded in pro-life interests. I was told, “Clinton is pro-abortion; if you don’t vote for Trump, you’ll be helping Clinton win!” Of course, many evangelicals were queasy about the flamboyant businessman from New York. But most felt the election was decisive; if we didn’t take drastic action, then the ship was going down.

2020

You know what happened next. Donald J. Trump won the election, ushered in via dramatic support from the evangelical bloc. The next four years were a trip, filled with all manner of chaos, scandal, and deep partisan division.

By the time 2020 rolled around, I anticipated a tempered discourse around the election—particularly in light of the incumbent’s performance and evidently problematic character. Surely the evangelical bloc would have softened in their fervor based on four years of hindsight.

Reader, it did not. If anything, the opposite happened.

Formerly resistant evangelicals became reluctant supporters. Supporters hardened into fanatics. The discourse turned even more rigid: the Christian thing to do was to support Trump; a Christian could not support Biden.

I once more found myself stuck between a rock and a hard place: I could not, in good conscience support the incumbent, and I still could not support the opposing party. I was being asked to choose between a lesser of two evils, but which was the lesser was getting harder and harder to discern.

Once again, in voicing this concern, I was told that a third party vote was a terrible, terrible thing. Because it inevitably served as a useless vote that only helped the other guy. (As an aside, if a third party vote helped the other guy, that means it had to help both other guys, which means it would count for two, which is far more potent than a blue or red vote could claim!)

I resisted the harangues of the partisans and once more voted third party.

2024

Now here we are, four years further, and the choices are still quite bad. I would argue they are worse. Not only has the Democratic platform remained fairly constant in its protection of values I cannot abide, but the Republican party has wandered from its traditional conservative roots. It has all but dumped its pro-life convictions, and its platform (and candidate) is little more than warmed over populist nationalism.

And so once again, I find myself with no option which I can, in good conscience, place my tiny little electoral share behind. No surprise, I will be voting third party once more.

And this matters…why?

Why tell you all this? A vote is a deeply personal matter, after all. Why this laborious narrative? Over the next couple days, I’ll be writing on why I think voting third party isn’t a waste, but is rather a reasonable, and perhaps even deeply strategic option.

My intention is toward encouragement, however. I think folks who bind consciences to particular voting outcomes are playing a dangerous game. I truly believe this is an area where Christians must exercise liberty in making the best choice.

At the same time, most people are convinced there are only two options. There are not only two options. But I find this to be deeply under discussed. So my goal is to help you, dear friend, to have one more data point as you go to the polls.

—Till tomorrow.