Debunking the myth of the ‘wasted’ vote on Missouri’s independent US Senate candidate | Opinion

There’s a recurring mystery in American politics. Surveys repeatedly show that a majority of Americans are dissatisfied with our country’s two-party political system and want another option. Yet when Election Day comes, a tiny fraction of Americans actually vote for something besides a Republican or a Democrat. What gives?

There are likely many things that contribute to this phenomenon, including a relative lack of high-quality independent or third-party candidates, and a lack of voter knowledge about those options when they do exist. But surely one of the biggest factors discouraging votes for nontraditional candidates is this oft-repeated claim: If you vote for an independent candidate, you’re wasting your vote.

This phrase is repeated so often by members of both major parties — not to mention members of the media — that it is rarely critically examined, and it is generally accepted as truth. Here’s the problem with it: It doesn’t make sense.

Proponents of the “wasted vote” myth generally argue that independent candidates are extremely unlikely to win, therefore voting for one of them is a wasted vote. But if voting for a candidate who is unlikely to win is a wasted vote, what about votes for Republicans in deep blue states or votes for Democrats in deep red states? Is a vote for Kamala Harris in Missouri a “wasted” vote? Is a vote for Donald Trump in California a “wasted” vote?

This line of thinking is also problematic because it treats voting like betting on a horse race or a sporting event: The goal is to guess who is going to win. That is not why we vote. We vote to make a statement about what we think our country (or state, or city, and so on) needs. Win probability shouldn’t factor into that calculus.

Finally, the wasted vote thinking is flawed because it implies that you should change your vote based on the assumed behavior of other voters. In other words, “You shouldn’t vote for that person because nobody else will,” or “You should vote for that person because everyone else is going to.” Most Americans hate it when leaders wait to see what everyone else is doing before they take a stand on something. Why should we, as voters, behave the same way?

A companion to the wasted vote myth is the “spoiler vote” argument — in other words, “I’m afraid to vote for an independent because it might cause (insert loathed party/candidate) to win.” This line of thinking is also actively encouraged by both major parties and by much of the media. Like the wasted vote myth, it has logical problems. For one, no major election has ever been decided by a single vote, so your vote is not going to “cause” anyone to win or lose. But the biggest problem with this argument was summed up nicely by Greg Orman, who ran for Senate as an independent in Kansas, in a recent essay for RealClearPolitics:

“There’s a problem with negative votes. They let the politicians off the hook. If we all vote against the candidates we dislike the most, to win re-election, a politician doesn’t need to solve problems or improve your life or even honor the promises they made while campaigning. They simply need to make you afraid of their opponent. That’s a bridge to nowhere.”

Orman is right — fear-based voting is what has led us to the depressing state of our politics today. Until we start rejecting the fear-based playbook of the major parties, we won’t see any change in behavior from them.

The two parties have rigged the system. They want you to believe you have no options, but you actually have many options.

So the next time you hear about an independent candidate or see one on the ballot, don’t ask yourself, “Is this person likely to win?” or even, “Will this person cause the party I hate to win?” Ask yourself: “Does this person best represent what I think our country needs?” If the answer is yes, go ahead and cast your vote for them. It may just be the least “wasted” vote you ever cast.

Jared Young is a former CEO and attorney who running as an independent candidate for U.S. Senate in Missouri.