The other options – Third parties renew hope in current disparaging political climate

Chris Murray looks like any other college student.

Sitting on the Administration Building lawn, he could have just as easily been talking about picnics rather than politics.

Murray is not only a University of Idaho law student, but he’s also Moscow’s regional coordinator for the Green Party.

“Basically, they just put my phone number, name and email on the Jill Stein site,” Murray said. “I usually just take emails and phone calls and try to get people in touch with whoever we had in their area.”

Since he turned 18, Murray said he’s never voted for a major party candidate. This summer, he decided it was time to get involved with the Green Party.

Across the country, Jim Lark serves a different party with a similar purpose. Lark, a Virginia resident, is the current representative in his region for the Libertarian Party and the former National Chairman of the party. Lark said he has been involved in the Libertarian Party since 1983.

The Libertarian Party is already recognized in the state of Idaho, Murray said, but the Green Party is not. That made one of Murray’s key responsibilities this election season getting signatures for a petition to put Jill Stein on the Idaho ballot. Idaho requires 1,000 signatures from registered voters, he said.

“We actually just turned in over a thousand signatures to the secretary of state, just a day before the deadline,” Murray said. “Barring some action by the secretary of state to throw out signatures, Jill Stein should be on the ballot in Idaho.”

Though both parties are independent, the views of the Green Party and Libertarian Party are significantly different.

“The basic principles of the (Libertarian) party put importance of individual liberty coupled with responsibilities,” Lark said.

On the other hand, one of the key pillars of the Green Party movement is environmental protection, Murray said. Murray said he is invested with the Green Party’s goals as a father of two.

“Personally, it comes down to wanting there to be a future for my children or their children,” Murray said. “I want them to be able to enjoy the outdoors and environment the way I do.”

Murray and Lark said the parties both want to offer something for everyone.

“It’s hard gaining traction,” Murray said. “Despite progressive stances of the Green Party, there’s a lot of things that Idahoans would find important.”

The two men said change begins on an individual level, and it isn’t always easy.

“The Libertarian Party has grown, but we’re in an odd situation. Being a libertarian tends to bias you against having political involvement,” Lark said.

That being said, Lark said that the Libertarian Party campaigns solely by individual efforts. It doesn’t receive money from a larger corporate body like many other campaigns do.

Murray said he wants to stress the importance of individual research. Many parties have a lot of misconceptions about them perpetuated by the media. Lark said people need to make their own decisions.

“I tell people why I want to vote libertarian, but I don’t tell people what to do,” Lark said. “Honestly, I don’t know the right path.”

For both parties, it’s especially hard to gain traction because of what Lark calls the “wasted-vote syndrome.”

For Lark, what’s most important is not feeling guilty after he votes. Voting for a third party is  voting for something rather than against something, he said.

“Voting for what you want is never a wasted vote,” Lark said. “I feel pretty comfortable voting libertarian. I don’t have to apologize for my vote after the election.”

Though the Green and Libertarian parties struggle with gaining and retaining voters, they have high hopes for this election season. Lark said many people find both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump unpleasant.

“The Libertarian Party is likely to get a record number of votes this year,” Lark said. “Forecasting, though, is difficult, especially when it concerns the future.”

Carly Scott

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