Some of the things I have read startle me, so I thought I would lay this out.

For openers, full disclosure: I have never voted Republican. However, I am not sure I could ever vote for Hillary, either. My posts criticize Hillary much more than Trump only because I assume that I don't have to point out to liberals the deficiencies of the Republican Party or Trump. On the other hand, I've have seen Democrats blame Republicans for whatever upsets them. While I am not pro-Republican, I don't think believing or pretending that Republicans are the only ones who have "done us wrong" and therefore voting Democratic will fix everything is healthy. I know just how self-defeating that is because that's exactly what I used to believe. It's like taking the wrong medicine. Whatever ails you is unlikely to get better.

Perhaps the most glaring example of this was a poster on another board who blamed Reagan for pro-corporate changes to the Bankruptcy Act of 1934 (part of the New Deal). In reality, the changes she described were part of the Bankruptcy Code of 1978, enacted and signed when Carter was President and Democrats had a majority in both houses of Congress.

I will vote Stein, but my vote will not affect the election. Of course, we elect Presidents by the electoral college, not by popular vote, which is essentially voting for President by state. My state has never been a swing state--at least not in modern times. Even though my vote will not matter, I will vote for Stein anyway. I feel that the best use I can possibly make of my Presidential vote in 2016 is to have my vote "say" that I want someone well to the left of Hillary Clinton. (A vote for Johnson will not do that.) Also, I believe that any votes for Stein beyond the tiny percentage that she received in 2012 will be recognized as being a direct result of Sanders' run. (A vote for Johnson will not.) Finally, I want to help the Green Party to get enough of the popular vote to maybe have an easier time getting ballot access, TV coverage, etc. next time around. (A vote for Johnson will not.)

In all likelihood, you can vote for Stein without worrying if she will make a good President because, sadly, she is highly unlikely to win. If she does win, I am confident that she will do far less damage than the other three. So, either way, no worries.

Writing in Sanders is, IMO, will not be useful. It will not accomplish any of the things I am hoping to accomplish. Write-in votes do not get reported anywhere or show up in any statistics, so your vote will not even "say" a thing, assuming any vote does. Moreover, in some states, writing in can invalidate your down ballot choices. If you are contemplating this, please check the law of your state before you vote.

Inasmuch as we do elect by state, take a look at the polls for your state as Election Day nears.

1. If your state is strong for Hillary, your vote for someone else will not help elect Trump, no matter what anyone says. It just won't increase the landslide number of votes by which Hillary wins your state.

2. If polls for your state are really close come late October/early November, which I think is highly unlikely, and it's also looking as though Hillary may have a hard time making 270 electoral votes, which I also think is even more unlikely, then and only then do you need to worry about how you will vote for President in 2016. President Hillary would, for me, be the worst case scenario. (This post adverts to that, but is not a full examination of the point: http://caucus99percent.com/comment/166958#comment-166958 )

If I were in a position where my vote might actually matter, I might be able to bring myself to vote for Trump. However, I am very grateful not to be in that position and doubt any of us will be. In the highly unlikely event you find yourself in that position, I humbly beg you to do a lot of research, seeking out especially views of liberals that are contrary to your own, whatever your own view might be at that time. And then, you must vote your conscience. The stakes are too high to do anything else.