Meme Reasons
Smitty is Litty, need I say more? I have plenty of more puns to push, but I can't release them all at once. Future periodic updates are immanent, with Spongebob and Pokemon due for appearance.
Remember: Don't Be Sh*tty, Vote for Smitty!
Remember: Don't Be Sh*tty, Vote for Smitty!
Real Reasons (to convince your parents/unfun friends)
The most common complaint you'll hear trying to get people to vote third party is the claim that they can't win. Sadly, due to Duverger's Law that is usually the case. However, that political theory law relies on a general assumption of informed or partisan voting. Today, neither is the case. Considering informed voting, I would direct you to Jay Leno's Jaywalking videos such as this one. As for partisan voting, recent polling suggests that there is a strong desire for a successful third party to emerge in American politics, as suggested by this NBC/GenForward poll. As for party affiliation, it has been on the decline for some time now as seen in this Pew Research study. These trends clearly show that the electorate is willing to consider options outside of the Republican-Democrat dichotomy. The question then becomes: why don't third parties win? The simple answer is because the races that get all the attention they usually can't win. The races that don't get attention, however, third parties can win and do win. Libertarians hold seats in the New Hampshire House of Representatives currently. A member of the Working Families Party is in the Connecticut Senate. A Maine Green Independent Party member currently holds a seat in Maine's House of Representatives. These are just a few examples, a list of third elected officials in state legislatures can be found here.
This election for the Georgia Secretary of State is a down ballot race, the kind of races that third parties win at. Most people won't be informed about the issues and will either vote party line, or not vote at all. In fact the latter tends to happen a lot, it's called drop-off and is demonstrated here. Sorry, the study is for Louisiana, but not many people catalog this kind of stuff, or at least it isn't easy to find. But, the point remains, and on a macro scale, Georgia and Louisiana are fairly similar politically.
Since we have an ill-informed electorate on down-ballot races, it becomes fairly easy to convince them to support the platform Smitty is running on, once they accept the platform they only have to overcome a reluctance to vote third party. Speaking of which, I should probably describe what Smitty is running on. His platform is the incredibly captivating subject of election reform. I think I hear crickets. Basically, Smitty wants to make it easier to vote, stop gerrymandering, and make the system better (no more lesser of two evil scenarios). In a more relatable form, Smitty wants:
This election for the Georgia Secretary of State is a down ballot race, the kind of races that third parties win at. Most people won't be informed about the issues and will either vote party line, or not vote at all. In fact the latter tends to happen a lot, it's called drop-off and is demonstrated here. Sorry, the study is for Louisiana, but not many people catalog this kind of stuff, or at least it isn't easy to find. But, the point remains, and on a macro scale, Georgia and Louisiana are fairly similar politically.
Since we have an ill-informed electorate on down-ballot races, it becomes fairly easy to convince them to support the platform Smitty is running on, once they accept the platform they only have to overcome a reluctance to vote third party. Speaking of which, I should probably describe what Smitty is running on. His platform is the incredibly captivating subject of election reform. I think I hear crickets. Basically, Smitty wants to make it easier to vote, stop gerrymandering, and make the system better (no more lesser of two evil scenarios). In a more relatable form, Smitty wants:
If you would like to read his full platform, you can find it here.
In short, the atmosphere is right for Smitty to be competitive, and this race is one in which he can win.
If you want to know how you can get involved to help elect Smitty you can donate are support him officially here.
Alternatively, you can help the unofficial Smitty Is Litty campaign. See the How You Can Help tab, or click the button below.
In short, the atmosphere is right for Smitty to be competitive, and this race is one in which he can win.
If you want to know how you can get involved to help elect Smitty you can donate are support him officially here.
Alternatively, you can help the unofficial Smitty Is Litty campaign. See the How You Can Help tab, or click the button below.