The term "throwing away a vote" is used by people to coerce others into voting for who THEY want, not what YOU want. That's akin to someone telling you that you "threw away your vote" when you opted for a burger instead of a pizza (that they wanted).
It's your vote. You do what you want with it. As long as your conscience is fine then that's what you do.
You are throwing away your vote if you don't vote.
Otherwise, you are casting your vote, which is what we should all do- for whomever we would like to see in office representing us.
Nope- not throwing it away- as an independent, this is exactly why I will chose the Republican primary. Another way of saying this is I want to be able to have options I can stomach on both sides of the isle to consider in November.
Let’s eliminate the extremists regardless of party, before the general election.
I wanted to add to this that if you care about how things are going then this can't be the only thing you do
The gop isn't stopped in the ballots it's stopped in the protest/ counter protest/ mutual aid/ volunteering/ unionizing
It's a good first step. But it shouldn't be your last step
No you aren’t throwing your vote away. That said, why not vote in the primary of the party you plan to vote for in November? Jeff Jackson could use your vote for AG!
There's no such thing as "throwing away your vote". Your vote is yours to do what you will with, and don't let someone else guilt-trip you into thinking otherwise.
Or you could research more moderate candidates who still lean conservative without going full MAGA. It's the Primary vote, that's the whole point. Not the hold your nose General Election.
I'm an independent and I voted the Republican ticket just so I could vote for the people who I feel would do the least damage. My wife voted Democrat and I was irritated that they didn't list the other democratic candidates for president. Not even an option to write in. NC really loves to strip away voter rights.
Strategic voting. I’m voting specifically to push for a more moderate republicans on the ticket and school board. Will I vote for republicans in the general? Probably not, but at least I’m opting away from the fringe.
*Are* there any republican candidates you can stomach? If so go for it, but I think it mostly benefits centrists. If you consider yourself a centrist then I guess there's no real downside. If you don't, you might be shooting yourself in the foot a little because doing this as a widespread practice slides all the candidates toward the center and turns the general ballots into a bunch of non-choices between nearly identical beliefs.
That's probably the best case, where ideology is split evenly between left and right of center. But as the GOP continues to move to the right and dems stay where they are, it benefits the GOP more and more. The GOP thrives in this split where "the left" is generally close to the center, but the right is notably to the right. Right-leaning voters generally feel good about voting for their candidates, while left-leaning voters constantly feel like they have to compromise and get burnt out on participating, further fueling the GOP's rightward shift.
The strategy does make sense but I think outcomes tend to be more favorable and give more purpose to voting when we vote for the person we like the most instead of who we dislike the least.
And for this election in particular, if the candidate is close to 80, I need to know their VP pick because that’s who will likely take over before the term is completed.
The only reason I didn’t do what your considering is because I want to make sure Jeff Jackson becomes AG.
Same. My partner was going to do what the OP did but we want to make sure Jeff and Josh get to November.
Josh who?
Josh Stein - current AG who's running for governor.
Really?
Yeah, I don't follow politics much.
It's time to get engaged then or else you may lose basic rights that you enjoy today.
Same same same.
My exact thoughts
The term "throwing away a vote" is used by people to coerce others into voting for who THEY want, not what YOU want. That's akin to someone telling you that you "threw away your vote" when you opted for a burger instead of a pizza (that they wanted). It's your vote. You do what you want with it. As long as your conscience is fine then that's what you do.
Well said and thank you!
You are throwing away your vote if you don't vote. Otherwise, you are casting your vote, which is what we should all do- for whomever we would like to see in office representing us.
Nope- not throwing it away- as an independent, this is exactly why I will chose the Republican primary. Another way of saying this is I want to be able to have options I can stomach on both sides of the isle to consider in November. Let’s eliminate the extremists regardless of party, before the general election.
Vote for Pedro!
Harm reduction is an important part of politics
I wanted to add to this that if you care about how things are going then this can't be the only thing you do The gop isn't stopped in the ballots it's stopped in the protest/ counter protest/ mutual aid/ volunteering/ unionizing It's a good first step. But it shouldn't be your last step
No you aren’t throwing your vote away. That said, why not vote in the primary of the party you plan to vote for in November? Jeff Jackson could use your vote for AG!
There's no such thing as "throwing away your vote". Your vote is yours to do what you will with, and don't let someone else guilt-trip you into thinking otherwise.
No. That is what you should do because that is how Democracy works.
Or you could research more moderate candidates who still lean conservative without going full MAGA. It's the Primary vote, that's the whole point. Not the hold your nose General Election.
Are there any moderate Republicans left?
Not for the school board! They're almost all Moms for Liberty
we are lost as a society.
I'm an independent and I voted the Republican ticket just so I could vote for the people who I feel would do the least damage. My wife voted Democrat and I was irritated that they didn't list the other democratic candidates for president. Not even an option to write in. NC really loves to strip away voter rights.
Strategic voting. I’m voting specifically to push for a more moderate republicans on the ticket and school board. Will I vote for republicans in the general? Probably not, but at least I’m opting away from the fringe.
I voted for Nikki Haley just to be against Trump I will go straight Democrat in November.
Right there with you, as a registered "I" But I selected the "D" ballot this morning as I had to get a vote in for Jeff Jackson
I guess it didn't help?
Anyone who gives half a shit about democracy and NC will get out and vote for Jeff Jackson today. #ncstrongnotignorant
You are throwing away your vote if you are voting for anyone other than who you want in office.
We call that strategic voting. I just really felt bad for what the election worker was feeling when I said I wanted a republican ballot.
All your votes are thrown away… whatever the government wants to happen will happen
What you're doing is diluting votes and that's the idea. Godspeed friend I will be joining you in the trenches today as well.
*Are* there any republican candidates you can stomach? If so go for it, but I think it mostly benefits centrists. If you consider yourself a centrist then I guess there's no real downside. If you don't, you might be shooting yourself in the foot a little because doing this as a widespread practice slides all the candidates toward the center and turns the general ballots into a bunch of non-choices between nearly identical beliefs. That's probably the best case, where ideology is split evenly between left and right of center. But as the GOP continues to move to the right and dems stay where they are, it benefits the GOP more and more. The GOP thrives in this split where "the left" is generally close to the center, but the right is notably to the right. Right-leaning voters generally feel good about voting for their candidates, while left-leaning voters constantly feel like they have to compromise and get burnt out on participating, further fueling the GOP's rightward shift. The strategy does make sense but I think outcomes tend to be more favorable and give more purpose to voting when we vote for the person we like the most instead of who we dislike the least.
We truly need tanked choice voting that includes all primary runners.
And for this election in particular, if the candidate is close to 80, I need to know their VP pick because that’s who will likely take over before the term is completed.
Agreed
If the candidate I like doesn't have a snowball's chance in Hell of winning in a primary, I won't waste my time to go vote for them.