To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Emily Mikeska.  I am a small business owner, an independent contractor, a taxpayer, a relatively healthy woman, a Caucasian, a Texan, a non-Christian, a registered voter, and a US Citizen – and I feel completely unrepresented in the current political arena.  I am not alone.  You could change any number of things in the list above, and I still wouldn’t be alone.  Like many US Citizens, I have started to think extensively about how I will vote in November.  I am concerned that my voice and the voices of many of my peers are no longer being heard by our current government.  Neither Republicans nor Democrats represent me adequately as a (supposedly) free citizen of the United States of America, and both seem to have it in their agendas to continue to increase government intervention in my everyday life. In addition, I believe our current electoral system to be broken and inaccurately representative of the current views of the American population.

Republicans, to this day are referred to as Conservatives.  Since the rise of the Republican Party, this has gone to imply that they value tradition, the rule of law and the Christian religion, and republicanism.  Most politicians I hear from seem to be building their campaign platforms with only tradition and/or the Christian religion in mind.  I find that I see less and less republicanism in the Republican Party.  There is no more heed given to liberty or the inalienable rights of individuals.  Instead, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and countless other “right-wing” politicians seem to want to continuously add federal laws that, while upholding their own Christian and traditional beliefs, erode the ability of others to make life-altering decisions based on the non-Christian and non-traditional beliefs that the rest of us, according to the Constitution, are allowed to have.  As a woman with less than traditional, and certainly not religious, views on marriage, family, and women’s rights, I do not believe that the current incarnation of the Republican Party represents me.  I do not believe any politician has a right to insert their own religious beliefs into the law, thereby forcing me to live by the standards of any particular religion.  Instead, I believe it to be the obligation of elected officials in government to uphold my right to make decisions based on my own moral compass (provided, of course, that those decisions will not adversely affect my fellow human beings). I do not want my government growing in such a way as to disallow me to make these decisions about my life, my body, and my choice of religion (or non-religion, as the case may be).  I will therefore, not be voting Republican in the November election.

As much as Republicans want to interfere in the decisions of my personal and religious life, Democrats seem to want to “help” me by interfering with my business-building opportunities and my ability to choose the healthcare option that is most practical and financially beneficial for me.  As mentioned above, I am a small business owner.  I have one employee – myself, and as my business is still building, I often just break even with bills.  I currently cannot afford healthcare, and if I understand correctly, companies still aren’t required to offer healthcare to independent contractors.  This means there is no way for me to get in on cheaper group options through my independent contractor position.  The Affordable Healthcare Act, while having a few good regulations in it, will force me to buy a product or pay a tax.  The idea of taxing US Citizens if they refuse to buy a product flies in the face of the principals for a Capitalist economy.  If I “choose” to pay the extra tax, what extra service will I be getting in return for my money?  Not general office visits, not basic preventative healthcare such as annual check-ups – nothing more than any other tax payer who isn't required to pay that extra tax.  When did it become the job of the federal government to allocate my income?  As a small business owner and a taxpayer, I feel the Democratic Party does not represent me. I do not want my government growing in such a way as to disallow me to allocate the money that I earn as I see fit, and I will not be voting Democratic in the November election.

I, for the most part, agree with the Libertarian Party platform and believe that Gary Johnson would represent me and my views better than the other candidates.  I also believe him to have the business background necessary to adequately run the gigantic company that the U.S. has become. However, I’ve been given the impression that Libertarians don’t have enough funding to win this election, and there is obviously no guarantee that voting for them this year will mean that they will have enough funding in 2016. In addition, the workings of the Electoral College system see to it that my vote for a Libertarian candidate in Texas will amount to no Libertarian Electoral College votes.  So where would I get by voting Libertarian this year?

At this point, you might be thinking that I don’t plan on voting at all.  Before you begin expounding on the importance of voting, before you tell me that my voice won’t be heard if I don’t vote, ask yourself this question – “Is everyone’s voice being heard now?”  In the past few months, I have heard time and time again that “a vote for anyone other than Romney is a vote for Obama” and vice versa.  Logically, this can’t be true.  I vote for whom I check or write on the ballot, period.  If I turn in a blank ballot, then I haven’t voted for any of the options presented to me.  Right?  Unfortunately, as you know, our Electoral College system doesn’t work that way.  If 60% of Texas voters vote Republican, 35% vote Democratic, and 5% vote other (third party, blank ballot, etc.) then the entire 38 Electoral College votes for Texas will go towards the Republican candidate.  How does that system represent all of the citizens of Texas?  It doesn’t.  It represents 60% of Texas citizens while making the votes for the rest of us invalid and meaningless.  Why is it that those 38 electoral votes aren’t split to more accurately reflect the percentages?  The current system is antiquated and broken and has made it so that a vote for ANY candidate is a vote for one of two options.  In the past few months, I have heard the words “voting for the lesser of two evils” more than I would care to say.  In a multi-party system, no one should ever feel the need to vote for anything that they see as “evil” or even just non-representative of themselves.  But they do because otherwise their vote wouldn’t count in our system of inaccurate representation.  I see this as a complete failure of our political system and government to represent the citizens of the United States. 

      So how do I vote in a broken system?  Do I vote as a small business owner and taxpayer?  Do I vote as a woman and non-Christian?  Do I “throw my vote away” on the candidate that actually does best represent me but will not win because a “lack of funding” has costed him his place in this year’s presidential debate?   This year there is no easy answer for someone who is a small business owner, an independent contractor, a taxpayer, a relatively healthy woman, a Caucasian, a Texan, a non-Christian, a registered voter, a US Citizen, and above all someone who cares. 

Regards,

Emily M.