Voters are increasingly unsatisfied with their choices on the ballot. Incumbent politicians are fighting back with legislation to reduce the number of choices voters can make. Voters are left choosing between the lesser of evils and leave the voting booth angry and depressed with their vote. All of this results in very poor voter turnout.

Where do Libertarians stand? 

What if there was a way that voters would not have to face choosing between the lesser of evils? What if there was no concern that voting for one candidate would "steal votes" from another candidate? What if political parties and incumbent politicians had no incentive to exclude choices from the ballot?

For as long as I can remember, the Libertarian Party has advocated giving voters more choices and reasonable reforms to elections. One of the methods that we have found most successful is Approval Voting.

Consider this; you have candidates A, B, and C. Today you can only vote for one of them. But what if you like both A and C? You would approve of both of them to serve in office, but today can only express your approval for one. With Approval Voting you have one ballot and cast a vote for each candidate you approve of. The candidate with the highest approval wins. It is simple and accurately reflects the will of the voters.

So in the hypothetical case with 100 voters, let’s say 35 people approve only A, 25 approve only B and 5 approve only C. Then there are 15 people that approve both A and C, 15 approve B and C, and nobody that approves A also approves B. Lastly you have 5 voters that approve of all candidates A, B and C. So you end up with 55 votes approving A, 45 approving B and 40 that approve C. A wins.

This system has been time tested and it works. It has the added benefit of dramatically reducing the probability of needing a runoff election. Gone is the "stealing votes" or "wasted vote" syndrome. 

This weekend the Libertarian Party state convention expects 5 candidates on the ballot for governor of Texas. It is likely that our delegates will use Approval Voting to determine who will be our nominee. If you want to see how it works, you can come by at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Most of you want more choices on the ballot. Fortunately this year in Texas you may also have the Green Party on the ballot. Unfortunately the Republican Party financed placing the Greens on the ballot in order to "steal votes" from Democrats. Republicans are hoping this will hurt Bill White's campaign against Rick Perry. With Approval Voting, the Greens would be on the ballot because there is no incentive for politicians to keep them of the ballot and you would not have political parties playing games like this to screw their opponents.

In 2004 the Libertarian Party of Texas had to collect over 82,000 signatures in 75 days to remain on the ballot. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears were poured into that effort. Also, a lot of money was poured into it. It all came from our donors. We have never taken money under the table to acquire access to the ballot.

Let me address this "stealing votes" idea. You own your vote. No political party owns your vote. If you vote Libertarian or Green, nobody stole anything. If you go along with the "stealing votes" concept, you would have to believe that your vote is owned by a Republican or Democratic Party. Do you enjoy being a slave?

To address the "wasted vote" myth, nobody said it better than this Saturday evening’s convention speaker Michael Badnarik. Go to 20:00 of this video:

Michael Badnarik -2004 Libertarian Party Presidential Candidate

Lastly, let me also mention another voting system called Instant Runoff Voting (IRV). This system has also been used and is favored by many. I think IRV is a significant improvement on the current system. However it is more complex and would require significant modifications to the ballot and the election process. Also there are concerns that there can be mathematical problems with the tabulation and might result in conditions where it is difficult to determine the winner. However, IRV brings the same benefits of Approval Voting and is a welcome alternative to the current system.

This November, you will have to cast a vote for only one of possibly 4 candidates on the ballot. It is your vote, not someone else's. Nobody can "steal" your vote. If you want to feel more empowered with your vote and ensure you have choices that reflect your sincere beliefs, push the people that get elected to bring us Approval Voting. If we are successful, the election in 2012 will be much more satisfying.