TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Pro-Hillary Clinton mailers from the LCV Victory Fund not only bash Donald Trump, but third-party candidates Gary Johnson and Jill Stein, as well -- and these pieces tell people not to vote for a candidate who has no chance at winning.
They target millennials and are based on the idea that a vote for a third-party candidate is a vote against Clinton, the Democratic nominee. The mailers are part of a $2.6 million campaign focused in swing states.
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Voters who are unsatisfied with the six names on Florida's presidential ballot might consider writing in another name.
So that means, “If you vote for Jeb Bush or Bobby Bowden, I’m sorry,” said Ion Sancho, the Leon County supervisor of elections. “The vote doesn’t count and it won’t be recorded. It is as if you didn’t vote in that race.”
Three of the six registered write-in candidates got back with reporter Matt Galka.
One of them, economist Laurence Kotlikoff, said he wasn’t satisfied with the coverage of his campaign.
“I think I’m a serious candidate,” he said. “I’m the only economist to ever run for president, and I think that alone should have attracted a lot of press, but most of the press decided right from the get-go that only someone from the parties was going to win.”
Tony Valdivia, who works in finance in San Antonio, said he’s happy to be getting his message out.
“I think it starts with what I believe my mission is, and that’s to improve the lives of those in my community and throughout the nation,” Valdivia said.
And journalist Zoltan Istvan – who’s also a transhumanist, meaning he’s focused on advancing humanity through science and technology – said he’d be OK with playing spoiler.
“I’m not that fond of either of the candidates, and if I end up spoiling it and some news coverage comes to the transhumanist movement, I’d call that a victory, even if that makes me hated for the next 50 years,” Istvan said.
To be a write-in candidate in Florida, you don’t need to pay a fee or collect any signatures. You just need to fill out the necessary paperwork.