2016 has possibly been the darkest election year in American history. Remember when candidates behaved with some sense of civility?
That was almost 14 years ago. On November 8, we are going to elect either a sex criminal or…a criminal. Remember when Donald Trump threatened to put Hillary Clinton in jail if he gets elected? That was pretty low.
But you don’t have to vote for Clinton or Trump! There are four other candidates on the ballot in South Carolina, where I vote. Isn’t it nice to have options?
Of course, none of these people are going to win. Let’s not kid ourselves. The point of voting for a third party is to bring attention to a different set of ideas, to show that fewer and fewer people are relating to Republicans and Democrats.
Here are some choices, in the order listed on the South Carolina ballot:
- Gary Johnson – Libertarian Party
Gary Johnson, governor of New Mexico, is the Libertarian Party candidate. He says he’s going to cut national spending by 20% or whatever it takes to balance the budget. His tax reform will replace “all income and payroll taxes with a single consumption tax that determines your tax burden by how much you spend, not how much you earn.” He is also a supporter of term limits, an end to the war on drugs, and the freedom to choose who to marry and what to do with our own bodies.
To learn more about Gary Johnson’s stance on the issues, see his website.
Jill Stein is this year’s candidate for the Green Party, a party that focusses on the quality of the environment and everyday living. Stein, a physician, writes about the Power to the People Plan on her website: “My Power to the People Plan creates deep system change, moving from greed and exploitation of corporate capitalism to a human-centered economy that puts people, planet, and peace over profit.”
Her plan would create millions of jobs by transitioning to 100% clean and renewable energy by 2030. She supports unionization, a living wage, healthcare for everyone, legalization of marijuana, and tuition-free education through university. She wants to end poverty, standardized testing, police brutality, and discrimination against women, racial minorities, and LGBTQIA+ people. She would also cut military spending by 50%.
- Darrell Castle – Constitution Party
Former state chairman from Tennessee, Darrell Castle is this year’s candidate for the Constitution Party, a religious conservative party with the mission of limiting “the federal government to its delegate, enumerated, Constitutional functions.”
Castle’s website lists his stances as adherence to the constitution, withdrawal from the United Nations, and an end to the Federal Reserve. He is also the “only candidate of any party that is 100% pro-life or even close to it.”
If that’s your thing, click here to learn more about Darrell Castle’s platform.
- Evan McMullin – Independence Party
Evan McMullin is this year’s candidate for the Independence Party, a party that believes that America is a Christian nation and promotes “respect for life, liberty, and property; strong traditional families; patriotism; and individual, state, and national sovereignty…by petition to god, and by political and educational means.”
McMullin supports increased military strength and a simplified tax code. He believes in reforming higher education by forcing universities to repay a portion of the student loans incurred by students who do not graduate.
To learn more about Evan McMullin’s campaign, check out his website here