Trump supporters, I have good news and bad news. The good news is, your neighbor’s vote won’t help Clinton get elected. The bad news is, your vote won’t help Trump get elected.

Clinton supporters, I have good news and bad news. The good news is, your neighbor’s vote won’t help Trump get elected. The bad news is, your vote won’t help Clinton get elected.

Because of the electoral college system, and the demographics of our population, the electoral result for Clinton v. Trump is already determined, and your individual vote won’t change anything. Clinton will get 12 electoral votes, Trump will get 0. Why can’t Trump supporters just work really hard and win? Because there aren’t enough people demographically open to considering a Republican vote, and as soon as his numbers go up, it would just trigger a bigger Democrat turnout. It’s tempting to buy into the fear-ridden hype that somehow if you don’t vote for one of the two, the other will win. But take some deep breaths and look at the numbers. There’s no risk of Trump winning, or of Clinton losing.

Because they don’t have enough competition, both of the major parties can shut out our choice on many issues. Want less war? Tough luck, both of the major candidates want more. Want to stop building up crushing federal debt? Neither candidate has any serious plan. Don’t like being spied on, or being thrown on a “no-fly” list with no due process? Both candidates want to take more civil liberties away to “keep you safe”. And contrary to the will of Washington voters, neither of them want to legalize marijuana.

There’s good news though – your vote can count! The Libertarian Party – which offers a better choice on all of these issues – will reach major party status if Gary Johnson receives even 5 percent of the popular vote, which we can easily achieve. This means more ballot access, more access to funding, and more opportunities to force the major parties to compete for your vote. Voters across the state, both Democrat- and Republican-leaning in equal numbers, are coming together to help build a better way forward.

Clinton will win 12 electoral votes from Washington. The question is then, will the Democrats and Republicans continue to monopolize the major party status, or will we vote to open up a better road forward which promotes the fiscal responsibility and personal liberty that we in Washington believe in?

David Johnson, Kirkland