My party has failed me. The Democratic Party has once again failed to produce a candidate with unapologetically progressive views. I don't want a moderate democrat who will compromise her progressive convictions, if she actually has any, in favor of politics. Nor do I want my vote for the truly progressive Green Party candidate, Jill Stein, to help the conservative idiots win.
I am in a huge dilemma, along with many friends and colleagues. How can we vote our conscience on Election Day, and not have our vote count in the end against our values? Why can't I check "Jill Stein" and not worry that it is "thrown away," or that somehow it's actually a vote for Romney? Imagine if a vote for Nader in 2000 didn't help George W. Bush win the election. It is possible.
It is possible. The solution is automatic run-off voting, and it needs to be instituted immediately.
Haven't heard of it? If so, that's probably because the two major parties that control our government have every reason to keep it from happening. The two-party system, not surprisingly, has failed to support a voting system that would let us, the people, vote for who we truly agree with and support.
The basic idea is that when you go to the voting booth, you can check not only your first candidate, but also your second. If your first choice loses, your vote is not lost, because your second choice candidate gets your vote. It is a simple way of leveling the playing field for more than the big-money parties.
In my case, I could vote for Dr. Stein, and if she fails to get the majority, then O'Brien would get my vote automatically. The idea is not unheard of. It has been working for other countries, including Ireland, England, and Australia.
Once and for all, let us have a true democracy. Let us be able to vote for the candidate that best matches our values, not the lesser-of-two-evils candidate who has a chance of winning in our political system.
I am NOT making these suggestions because I am affiliated with a third party.
I have been a proud democrat for years. But until my party stops catering to moderate, sometimes even downright conservative views, I plan to support the candidate with true vision, wisdom, and progressive values.
I plan to unapologetically vote Jill Stein this Election Day. I only hope that if my vote ends up helping Romney to get elected, people will begin to realize it is not the fault of third parties; it is the fault of the big-money parties that fail to reform a flawed system.
Carl Sciortino graduated from Tufts in 2000.
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