"WASTED VOTE" STORY IS A BAD EXCUSE
By CHARLES JAY, Personal Choice Party presidential candidate


I've heard the "wasted vote" story and it's old and tired. Let me know you a quick story about what a poor excuse it is.

Those who know me understand that I fool around with a little oddsmaking, and back in 1996 I wanted to check out what the odds of the Clinton-Dole race were on the day of the election. I went to the website of one of the online sportsbooks and found that Bill Clinton was listed at -1500, which meant that you had to bet $15 on him to win a dollar. Dole, on the other hand, was +1000, meaning that he was a 10/1 underdog - you could win $10 with a $1 bet if he were to win.

Assuming that sportsbooks are in business to make money - and there is every indication that they are successful in that pursuit - you could safely conclude that Dole had no shot in the world to win that evening. Indeed, he was behind by a healthy margin in the polls. 

At that point, considering the argument of the "wasted vote" people that the vote they cast should be for a "winnable" candidacy, wouldn't any vote for Bob Dole have been a wasted vote? Wouldn't it have only made sense to back the certain winner? Dole votes were going to make no difference at all in the election. So why would any Republicans go to the polls to support him? 

Because they voted for what they believed in, that's why. And they were right to do it.

So why should ANY voter, casting a ballot for ANY candidate, from ANY party, feel as if that vote is being wasted?

My suggestion to anyone who is considering voting for a third party candidate is to vote for the candidate that best represents your own beliefs and values, and not to listen to self-absorbed, manipulative representatives of the two "major" parties who are trying to brainwash you into believing that you should not vote your conscience on Election Day, because they usually don't practice what they preach.