Voters going off beaten path

STAFF WRITER

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With two unpopular candidates running in the 2016 presidential election, voters across the nation are pledging their support to third-party candidates. Eastern New Mexico is no exception.

Hillary Clinton (Democratic Party) and Donald Trump (Republican Party) may be the chosen candidates of the United States’ largest political parties, but Green Party Candidate Jill Stein has various Portales residents’ votes.

According to Portales resident Cody Garcia, his vote is going to Stein as a “conscious decision based on what should matter most.”

Garcia sees protecting the environment as an issue that has been largely ignored by the American political landscape, but not by Stein.

“Jill Stein’s awareness of the connection between environment and all life is clear. In general, the green politics of her party resonate strongly with what we should all strive to care more about: The very planet of which we all share our lives,” he said. “Economically, she calls out big money and how it is abused, by who, and on education she is a strong voice for the student debt problem, which is a problem many graduates face, myself included.”

Eastern New Mexico University student Hope Carvey decided to vote for Stein because the Green Party candidate gives her hope.

“Neither Hillary or Trump make me feel like I have a future to look forward to. Jill Stein, on the other hand, does make me feel like there’s something to look forward to. Her policy ideas are more in tune with what I believe this country needs,” said Carvey, adding that her vote is a protest to the two-party system.

“There are way more than just the Democratic and Republican parties, but nobody looks at them as if they could win, and that is solely because the media ignores them. We focus on the non-progressive candidates, so we never have real change,” she said. “The American people deserve more choices than who we have now. I will not vote for Hillary just so Trump doesn’t win. Hillary won’t fight for my support, so she won’t get it.”

Another third-party candidate taking votes from the two main candidates is Libertarian Candidate Gary Johnson.

Christopher Whitmore, also an ENMU student, said that, beyond helping a candidate who shares his views on a non-interventionist, anti-war policy, a vote for Johnson could allow the Libertarian Party to potentially play a larger role in government as a whole.

“The Libertarian Party functions purely off of private donations, and therefore can't afford to put someone's name on every ballot. If Johnson wins 5 percent — and that's the national public vote— the Libertarians will have access to the (public) funds the next election cycle, which means they can run more candidates, they can run more political ads, and whoever the next Libertarian to run for the presidency is in four years, they're much more likely to get into the debates,” he said. “Part of the reason why it’s so hard for any of their candidates to be taken seriously is because they have to reach 15 percent in the polls to get into the debates, but most Americans won’t even know who they are if they’re not in the debates.”

Early voting for the election will take place today until Nov 4. Voting will take place noon-8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays at the Memorial Building in Portales.

For Curry County voters, early voting is available 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays at the Curry County Administrative Complex at 417 Gidding. North Plains Mall will be available as an alternate early voting location beginning today with voting running 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday through Nov. 5.