-> I also haven't lost sight of the fact that none of us are actually
-> voting for the President.  The entire nation could vote for Mr
-> Browne, and he could not win the presidensy.  The electorial collage
-> is the body that actually votes for the president.  All the hype,
-> all the concern, it's all just a shell game.  A couple of hundred
-> folk are the ones that will actually vote for the President.  And
-> those folk are selected by your state government, according to
-> whatever rules your state has governing it.
->
-> So what the heck, the Presidential election is a great time to make
-> your statements to the parties.  Because whatever you vote for
-> doesn't matter.  It isn't counted for anything, except public
-> opinion.  Which means it can be a great tool for telling the
-> replicrat party what you really think of them and their actions.  At
-> least that's how I see it.
Nolan, I'm sorry, but what you've just said doesn't jive with MY
understanding of the situation.
Each PARTY nominates a slate of electors pledged to vote for their
candidate.  When you vote for President, you are voting for WHICH slate
of electors gets to represent your state to the elctoral college.
Presumably, if Harry Browne is on the ballot in your state, that means
there is a slate of libertarian electors that will get to go to the
electoral college if Browne wins.
You seem to be saying that the STATE selects the electors, who are
free to ignore the voters wishes.
I believe it IS technically true that the electors are free to vote
their concience.  But for an elector NOT to support the candidate he is
pledged to support is a once in a blue moon event, and has never altered
the outcome of an election, to the best of my knowledge.
In any event, I feel safe in claiming that if Harry Browne DID win your
state, the slate of libertarian electors selected by the libertarian
party of your state would in fact vote for him.
So while its true that you are not DIRECTLY electing a president, your
vote DOES matter, because you are choosing WHICH group of electors gets
to vote for president.
--- WILDMAIL!/WC v4.12 
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