PLEASE SHARE THIS so that family, friends, and colleagues can consider making their votes count as much as possible in this year of pandemics and protests, peril and possibility.
To say we do not all agree on how to vote this year is an understatement! The following process may help maximize the power of our votes, with a reminder to continually use other forms of power as well. Use street power in rallies and protests. Use wallet power by avoiding huge corporations and instead moving toward local enterprises. Use organizing power by joining with others, including your local Green Party.
Here is an A-B-C process for maximizing electoral power.
(A) DO VOTE! Why? Because the billionaires DON’T WANT YOU TO. They know voting has power, that’s why they try to suppress the vote.
(B) CONSIDER the power of your VOTER REGISTRATION. If you value the combination of justice, peace, the environment and a real democracy, un-bought by billionaires and their corporations, then say so by registering Green! In most states it only affects the ballot you receive in primary elections every two years. In California it only affects presidential primary ballots every four years.
HOW TO: Go to Post Offices or search online for “register to vote [state].” In California you can quickly check how you’re registered at this link, voterstatus.sos.ca.gov and you can register Green at this link: registertovote.ca.gov.
BENEFITS of GREEN REGISTRATION across the country:
(1) Strengthen an alternative party that takes no corporate money.
(2) Create a crack in the corrupt and outmoded two-party system.
(3) Stop being taken for granted by Titanic political parties that are going in the opposite direction of what we want and need.
(C) VOTE FOR PRESIDENT. Consider how to stop Trump AND make your vote count toward what you do want.
Pretty crazy that U.S. voters even have to think about this question! But our antiquated electoral system lacks the simple solution of Ranked Choice Voting, and even disregards the popular vote. Here’s where it gets tricky because of our terrible electoral system and our strongly held belief systems.
ARE YOU AFRAID OF TRUMP WINNING?
Check the polls for your state – PPIC, Gallup, newspapers, etc. If one or the other of the Titanic Party candidates is ahead by 15-20%, vote Green! For example, 4 years ago in Maryland the margin was over 25%, and in California the margin was over 30%. In his book about the 2000 election, Crashing the Party, even Nader mentioned the usefulness of this approach.
After you check polls, mark your ballot, and mail it on Monday, October 26 to make sure it’s postmarked a week ahead of the November 3rd election; then it will be counted even if mail is slow.
ARE YOU VOTING YOUR VALUES NO MATTER WHAT?
Vote Green, and don’t let anyone perpetuate the false story that your vote is wasted, or that it is a vote for the opposition! A good article on why that story is a propaganda myth used to frighten voters away from alternative-party candidates ever since 2000 is here.
THE 5% BENEFIT OF VOTING GREEN. If the Green Party presidential ticket gets 5% of the popular vote, that will qualify the Green Party for a public campaign financing grant for the general election in 2024 for president. That will be a real boost toward breaking up the two-party stranglehold and creating a truly progressive political party in the United States.