Once the constitution was ratified everyone knew that George Washington would be elected president. It was such a well acknowledged fact that he never campaigned and he won all of the electoral votes. During his presidency he had members of his administration who held drastically different political opinions. His vice president was the Federalist John Adams and his Secretary of State was the Jeffersonian Republican Thomas Jefferson. George Washington never joined a political party even if he is often associated with the Federalists.

Washington didn’t want the country’s politics to turn into a tribal team sport. He famously said:

“However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”

For at least the last 100 years the country has been dominated by two political parties on the federal level. The last President not affiliated with either the Republican or Democratic parties was the Whig Millard Fillmore who assumed the office after the death of Zachary Taylor in 1850. Needless to say a two party system is engrained into American politics at this point in time.

The goal of the American Republic was to ensure the freedom of the individual. Personal sovereignty is the highest form of freedom. George Mason another founding father of the United States warned “No free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people, but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue.” In other words to be a truly sovereign individual requires living by a determined set of principles.

If George Washington is correct and political parties are used to usurp power from the people the need for voting based on principles over parties grows more significant as parties become stronger. As the 2024 election draws closer you will often hear the refrain: if you vote for [insert third party candidate name here] you are actually voting for the candidate you want to lose.

If you believe in your values and have identified a candidate that aligns with those values don’t be persuaded into voting against them. Vote with conviction. If you truly believe President Trump or President Biden is the best candidate vote for them. If your preferred candidate is Robert Kennedy Jr. or Cornel West vote for them proudly.

Do not be intimidated into voting for someone else because people you probably don’t know would tell you that you are throwing your vote away or that you are only helping your political opponents by not voting Democrat or Republican. Continually voting red or blue only increases their stranglehold on power and makes it easier to nominate candidates most people don’t like. In a January poll 67% of respondents said they wanted new candidates. 56% said that President Trump should not run for office again and 70% said that President Biden should not run again.

Yet here we are with President Biden set to run against President Trump. Both candidates will likely receive over 65 million votes despite 67% of the electorate wanting other candidates. Both candidates will speak ill of the other and proclaim the end of our nation as we know it if the other side wins. They want to intimidate you into voting for a candidate you don’t really want. Perhaps as a way to usurp power for themselves.

Assert your sovereignty. If your preferred candidate is your 2nd grade school teacher write her name in on your ballot. If your state doesn’t allow write in candidates abstain from a presidential vote while voting down ballot. Unless actions at the ballot box match the level of dissatisfaction with the candidates nothing will change. Imagine a November where 67% of the electorate voted for someone other than President Biden or President Trump. Imagine a world where the electorate took matters into their own hands and voted for who they truly believed in. Don’t be intimidated into casting your vote for someone you don’t believe in. Assert your sovereignty and vote for the most qualified person you know even if they are not on the ballot and they have no chance of winning. Start acting now to ensure the next 100 years are not dominated by two political parties that desire to “subvert the power of the people.”