Create a “None of the Above” Option for the U.S. Election

None of the Above  

As time goes by and the U.S. election draws near I am becoming disenchanted with the options. I suppose I am picky, but I think the most powerful position in the world, which represents and leads our country should be trustworthy, honorable, a strong sense of justice, and have a rational demeanor. I find the primary options to be severely lacking.    

What can concerned voters do? 

When you don’t have confidence in the available options of candidates, voters only have a few choices.  

1. Don’t vote. I hate this option. The very foundations for democracy or representative-democracies is the fact that citizens can vote for their representatives and leaders. I feel not voting is undermining the very fabric of what makes the self-governance of the U.S. great 
2. Vote for someone you don’t want. This is a backwards and pathetic option. Basically, you can vote against the person you don’t want to be in office. It is the lesser-of-two-evils approach, which is always miserable and leads to social unrest and unhappiness with whomever does win. This is not good for society. We should be voting for a candidate we WANT to be in office. 
3. Vote for someone who won’t win. Voting for a candidate that has no real chance is a moral victory but doesn’t really contribute your vote to decision for the leader, which is usually between just two or three people. This is why many countries do preliminaries then do a final head-to-head vote between only two candidates. Such a practice brings all the final votes to matter in a run-off.

Mickey Mouse for President 

There is one other option that U.S. voters have been using for some time, the write-in protest vote. One of the most popular write-in candidates is the Disney character Mickey Mouse, which first appeared on ballots in 1932. This is not much better than other options.   

Could there be a better way?   Vote of No Confidence

What if there were a mandatory option, for every presidential election, to vote for “No Confidence in All Candidates”? If this option receives a majority vote, then all the candidates on the ticket must be dropped. The current standing president would remain in office for another 100 days while a re-election would be run. No candidates on the previous ticket could run! This would be a restart or do-over vote.    

Sometimes the political system works in mysterious ways. Final candidates sometimes are not the people who you thought they were. Many times more information about their character, past dirty deeds, and caustic views come out. But once the primaries have been run, you don’t get to back out. People many times vote reluctantly for their party, even though they are sickened of the candidate by the time the polls open. This gives an escape clause and allows the parties to find a better candidate.    

It would take a Constitutional amendment to be implemented, but I think it is the right evolution of democracy in our society, to compensate for various ways candidates game the system.

I say put the “No Confidence in All Candidates” option on the Presidential Ballot!