Throwing away your vote won't bring about change

Editor,

In Wednesday's issue of the Daily Lobo, Lila Sanchez points out some of the problems with America's two-party system. The candidates are very much like the ones that have come before them. The nominees of both major parties are monetarily influenced by big donors and corporations.

No third-party candidate will ever win. This is true, but, because of her flawed logic, Sanchez acknowledges she will indeed throw away her vote this November. By voting for Ralph Nader, Sanchez will feel proud of her silent protest against our corrupt system. The problem is, no one will notice. On a grand scale, the difference her vote for Nader makes will be minuscule, at best. If she really wants to engender change in this nation, Sanchez must first realize her vote is not her only voice. There are plenty of other outlets in which she can express her opinion. She utilized one by writing a letter to the Daily Lobo. Sanchez has the option of contacting a political representative, joining a protest movement, donating to a campaign whose principles she agrees with or writing more letters to other newspapers with wider readerships. All these actions would do more for her and reach a larger number of people than simply checking the box next to Nader's name in November and walking out of the voting booth knowing she has done nothing to improve her country's defunct political system.

While I agree with Sanchez that the two-party system used in the United States offers voters few options and does not sufficiently represent the majority of citizens, there are times more appropriate than Election Day to voice her opinion. It is in between the elections, when legislation is being debated and the spotlight has shifted from young studs and beauty queens to the issues important to the people of our nation, that change will come about. If she does not consider these important matters until the next election and once again does nothing to protest other than throwing away her vote, the system will remain static. Come Election Day, I will vote for one of the two candidates who has a chance at winning. An election as historic and potentially monumental as the upcoming one deserves that. I will vote for the candidate whose ideologies most closely represent mine. The man who has promised to work for a majority of Americans, to take the country down a better road than the one we are now on and to improve conditions at home and the standing of Americans abroad is the one who has earned my vote. And then I will watch him closely, and if he does not live up to the promises he is now making, I, and the rest of the nation, will be quick to tell him to do better or step aside to make room for someone who can.

Lisa Ruby

UNM student