Presidential Election - Genuine Question

Independents are folks who do not register for either the Democratic or Republican parties. In some states/jurisdictions, independents cannot vote in primary elections (the stuff we've been dealing with so far). You have to be a Dem or a Repub. Some states/jurisdictions allow independents to vote in primary election days. You'd have to see what your location allows.

Everybody gets to vote in the general, no matter which you consider yourself and are registered as.

Candidates can run as independents but this often means little attention and hardly any money. These days it take billions to run a campaign, even losing ones! So independent candidates (or those from parties like Libertarians) rarely get far and even more rarely get elected for anything.

Like you, I cannot stomach either candidate this year. I will not vote for either. I may not vote at all. I'm sorry your first chance to vote leaves much to be desired in the candidates.

well consider voting for every thing but the presidential. most places send you a election bulletin, and it lists all candidates and short writings..and links to websites for more info. I start there.

There will be more than two parties represented on your ballot for president, so you can choose one of them (Gary Johnson - Libertarian Party, Jill Stein - Green Party, etc.) or you can write in someone of your choosing. No third party or independent candidate has won in as long as anyone here on this board has been voting. You can choose not to vote for president, but still may vote all the other state and local races on your ballot. I think when people have said they're not going to vote, they mean for president, not completely abstain from voting (if they are usually faithful voters; there are millions of citizens who never vote at all.)

Good luck and welcome to this crazy place!

interesting, I align best with Gary johnson

I'm probably going to tell you something you already know but this is my way of answering your question.

At the present we are a two main party political country.  Each party has a platform that we chose to identify with.

Independents don't fully identify with either party.  You have the Republicans on the right of the spectrum and the Democrats on the left of the spectrum with independents in the middle leaning either right or left depending on their beliefs but not fully identifying with either side.

As such "independents" are not a specific party but a group of individuals who's political beliefs fall in the spectrum between the Republicans and the Democrats.  That is why there is not a separate independent party per say because independents are all over the spectrum in beliefs and it would be almost impossible to unite these individuals to form an Independent party.   

However there are other parties such as The Green Party and Libertarian Party that are often referred to as independent parties when in fact they are not as they have a specific platform.   So I think when folks say even if you don't like the candidates of the main party you should vote for an independent they mean vote for someone from a smaller party like the Green Party and Libertarian party to send a "message" to the Democrats and Republicans.

And I have been known to do just that.  But I won't do it anymore because as a member of one of the two main parties I have come to realize that while  I may not be a big fan of the person running for the office of President  I believe it's more  important that my party be in The White House because of the affect it has on the Supreme Court with future picks for the court.  

I too was not going to vote in the upcoming election because I don't like either candidate, but I've changed my mind. I will vote for the person that scares me the least, to do what I can to keep my worst nightmare from winning. Basically, my vote will be a vote against one of the candidates. It's sad that it has come to that.

I think you should always vote. Even if you don't love the candidates you should pick the one who best represents your interests or the lesser of two evils. One of the first things I ask people who bring up politics is if they voted in the last election because if you can't be bothered to vote I can't be bothered to listen.

I'm a Sanders fan so, like you, I dislike both primary candidates. Not certain how I will cast my vote but you can bet your life on the fact I will vote for a presidential candidate. Good luck and sorry your first presidential election is a crapshoot.

This. Exactly.

I have nothing to offer other than to apologize that this shit storm of an election is your first experience with our process.

Not only this, but if I choose not to vote at all it just gives more power to those who do vote and their agenda probably doesn't align with mine.

I'm a Canadian living in the US - so I can't vote.

I'm with you though, neither Clinton or Trump look like good presidents to me.
However, one of them WILL win. It's a given.
Voting for an independent person/party is all well and good, but at the end of the day there are only two viable winners.

If I was voting, I'd choose the one that was at least a little better than the other.
My personal opinion would be to vote Clinton, because I cannot imagine a world where Trump wins (again, just my own opinion).
So, even though she's not my ideal president, I'd vote for her - just so she'd have that extra vote that Trump didn't.

I don't want to convince you to vote for either candidate, but I want you to think about what the Presidency of the US is all about. What can that person achieve? Make fail?

For me, the most important thing is who they put on the Supreme Court. I think we can all clearly see that judges have liberal or conservative slants, although they should not, they do. I want one with my leanings on that court. So for me, it is more important that the person of my party is elected.

Second, we are not an isolated country. We need to think how the rest of the world perceives us. Who is going to be the strongest leader that way? That is my secondary consideration.

Presidents can only do so much. People who want to leave the country if one is elected make me laugh. An overhaul of congress is a better idea. How bills are made into law is disgraceful. The wheelings and dealings of Congress are horrific.

To me, when an independent candidate is on the ballot you lose the greatness of the two-party system. Of course, we have problems with that (electoral college) here as well, but if you have read some history of the the presidential elections, it is widely believed that Ross Perot was responsible for Bill Clinton becoming president. That can be good or bad for you, but it did nothing for Ross Perot.

So ask yourself your end goal and think in those terms, rather than whether or not you like a candidate. I think if you actually liked a candidate, then they'd be doing a better job of hiding their issues than these two are. Politics is ugly, unfortunately.

And congratulations on becoming citizens!!!