Why is the PROTEST VOTE rarely discussed?

I have 5 options as an elector in Ontario and they are overlook by most journalists? WHY?

A Protest Vote is My Best Option; Is it yours too?

I sent the following email to Trish Woods, the host of the Trish Woods Is Critical podcast which I never miss.

To: Trish Woods

Topic: Comments on your discussion with Chris Bray (episode 135)

Yesterday, listened to you and Chris discussing the Midterm election.  I found the exchange to be quite informative and enjoyable. It, of course, focussed solely on GOP and Democratic election politics and voting results. I was hoping that you might introduce a related topic that seems never to see the light of day - the Protest vote.

Please allow me to unpack this subject for you.

The way I see it as a voter (in Ontario but most of this applies to US elections too), I have five options.

1. Vote for the Party and/or the Candidate that I actually want.

2. Vote “strategically” which amounts to casting a vote that hurts the chance of winning for a candidate that I don’t want. For example, I may vote strategically to stop Trudeau from returning to office.

3. Spoil my ballot or not bother to vote at all.

4. Vote Libertarian as a protest vote against all of the unacceptable mainstream party options.

5. Vote for an Independent candidate if one is available and who aligns with my goals and values as a citizen.

Comments on the 5 options.

1. Voting for the political party that I actually want means that I will never have an elected representative who will represent my values and priorities in federal parliament or Ontario’s legislative assembly. As a long time Less Government Advocate, there is only one political party that I can trust to reduce the size, cost and scope of authority… Libertarian. Every one of the mainstream parties have a proven track record of increasing the size, cost and scope of authority across all facets of Canadian life. Of course I know that I will never see a Libertarian majority government in this country. It goes without saying that my Libertarian vote may satisfy my personal principles but no one will ever know it except me.

2. Strategic voting is a cop out to my personal principles but may still be a viable option in some circumstances. I have sometimes voted Conservative, but it is always a crap shoot. I can never know in advance if I will get a Stephen Harper (the best PM in my 71 year life time) or a Doug Ford ( a serious disappointment especially relating to his pandemic policies). Sadly, I don’t see any provincial Conservatives in the wings who are of the caliber of Florida’s Governor DeSantis or a Stephen Harper. The Green, NDP, and Liberal parties have never been an option for me due to their fiscally irresponsible tendencies and their history of shilling for more government.

3. I can claim no moral right to complain unless I cast a vote even if I know that vote to be a throwaway. I understand that some people in Libertarian circles consider their voice to be completely lost in our system of “electoral democracy”. It easy to conclude that casting a vote, an act of participation in “electoral democracy”, is an endorsement of the system. I have often been tempted to forfeit my vote because I feel that it is a system that fails me at every turn - why should I endorse it? It always feels like a lie because I do not endorse our current governments at any level. This is my personal truth. I am always left only with feelings of resentment and frustration. We’re told by our “betters” that voting is both a privilege and a responsibility, but why should I vote in a system for people who I do not know, trust or respect?

4. A Libertarian vote is a protest vote. It is recorded as my personal statement that none of the Bigger Government parties are acceptable to me and that I am not prepared to compromise my personal interests by voting for the least offensive of the Big Government options on the ballot . When I vote Libertarian, I always walk away from the ballot box feeling proud that I stood up for myself even if I know that my choice is destined to fade into the mists. I sometimes wonder if, some day, citizens en masse will finally wake up to how severely our financial and social freedoms have been eroded. Maybe then the Libertarian “Protest Vote” will be chosen in large numbers. Everyone who cheered on the Trucker Convoy and who expressed their desire for the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to defend them is a potential Protest Voter  (if only they understand this!)

5. A vote for an Independent candidate is a wild card option that appeals to my admiration for the kind of decentralized Direct Democracy government that has operated in the Republic of Switzerland for hundreds of years. It eliminates party politics entirely which is the most corrosive acid to pour on political discourse in any form of democracy. Its baggage that we can eliminate by voting for Independents in majority numbers. If elected, the Independent MP or MPP is accountable 100% to the constituents in his or her riding. It opens options to endorse or reject policies presented from any other MP in Parliament or MPP in Ontario’s Legislative Assembly regardless of ideological bias. Only the best ideas that serve the best interests of the riding will get the attention of their elected representatives. The only considerations for me as an elector is if the Independent candidate has values that align with mine, can be trusted to follow through on election promises/priorities, and has the talent/abilities to work the other MPs or MPPs to get the desired results.

Trish. I hope that your future discussions with guests like Chris will include discussions beyond the mainstream parties and explore other possibilities. Unless you do this, your followers will conclude that you endorse only the Big Government political entities and that you automatically discount the voices of others who represent policy ideas that are not normally found in mainstream circles.

As a former CBC journalist, I understand that your Life Lens seeks out the broader, popular stories. It’s a natural inclination for someone with your career. However, you can also find nuggets of gold in less public corners of society. For someone who claims to be “politically homeless” and a “Woody Guthrie Libertarian”, I wonder why you have not explored more of those corners.

Keep up the great work (notwithstanding my comments above).

My 90 year old mother-in-law Dorothy says hi.

Regards

Gene Balfour,

Less Government Advocate since the late 1970s

Author of: “What to do about Climate Change - A Libertarian Proposal”

Fenelon Falls, Ontario.