Weighing all the options

While the rest of the nation has been wooed by either Sen. John Kerry or President George W. Bush in the last few days heading into Election Day, we here in Indiana have been ignored once again. Because of our state's continual support for Republicans, minimal campaigning took place in Indiana and most liberal voters feel that a vote for Kerry in Indiana would be fruitless -- especially because Bush will win all of Indiana's 11 electoral votes.\nAnd because Indiana hasn't voted Democrat since Lyndon B. Johnson, some voters in Indiana have considered voting for a third-party candidate as a way of supporting another option. We here at the Indiana Daily Student urge all voters to go out and vote for whomever they agree with the most, whether it be Bush, Kerry, Independent candidate Ralph Nader, Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik or anyone else.\nFollowing Nader's "spoiling" of the 2000 election, there has been a decline in third party support, with Nader polling at a fourth of what he had at this point four years ago.\nIf you choose to vote for a third-party candidate in any race, don't feel like you are throwing away your vote. Your vote counts just as much as anyone else's. Even if your candidate fails to win, let your voice be heard and politicians will take notice.\nThird-party candidates aren't just seasoned failures, as some people would like you to believe. Whenever a third party gets enough of the vote because of a certain issue, the Democrats or Republicans usually adopt that cause for their own. There are many success stories for third parties, such as former Minnesota Gov. Jesse "The Body" Ventura and Ross Perot, who didn't receive any electoral votes but set a record for 19 percent of the popular vote in 1992. \nAlso, if nobody ever supported third parties, we'd never have had the Republican Party, which started off small and ignored by most of the nation. Change is a part of any healthy democracy and without natural evolution of the two-party system (and the same two parties), our country is in danger of getting stagnant. \nAnother reason to vote for third-party candidates if you agree with their ideals is that these parties need to win 5 percent of the popular vote to receive campaign funds from the federal government. \nNow, we aren't saying that third parties are better or worse than the major two parties, but we feel that they shouldn't be ignored just because they won't win this time. If you want to vote for Kerry, then vote for him. If you want to vote Republican, then do it. And if you want to vote for a third-party candidate, vote for him or her. This late in the game, surely you've heard that your vote is your voice. By voting for a candidate in whom you truly believe, you're letting your voice be heard, no matter for whom you vote. \nSo, when you head to the voting booth, don't be so quick to pull the lever to vote a straight-party ticket. Take your time, become educated and vote for each candidate because they represent your ideals and values. Every vote does matter, so make your vote reflect your beliefs.