Dave Gardner Must Choose a Running Mate
Help Us Choose, and See How Ranked Choice Voting Works
Kamala Harris is about to announce her V.P. pick. I happen to know she didn’t choose me, which improves her chances of victory in November. That’s good for decency and integrity in the White House. But not so good for giving our kids a bright future rather than a dead planet. So my campaign continues (even though we’re all going to vote for Kamala). Now it’s time for me to choose a running mate.
Five beautiful people submitted videos in our Planet-First V.P. Search. I love all of these people. Three are qualified to serve. Two are submissions from non-U.S. citizens, residing in Europe. They simply wanted to contribute to the conversation. View all five videos below. Learn more about the three qualified contenders and cast your vote here.
My team and I will make the final decision as to who I invite to join the Dave the Planet ticket. However, we will carefully consider the results of our People’s Choice voting, which takes place now through August 18. Then we’ll announce our selection. We want to give you the opportunity to hear what these applicants have to say. And we genuinely want to know what you think.
We also want you to experience ranked choice voting, so our People’s Choice ballot is set up to demonstrate that. You’ll want to try it. In ranked choice voting, you rank candidates -- without fear of wasting your vote. If your most preferred candidate cannot win, your #2 vote is considered. There's no penalty for voting for the candidate you most believe in. See Understanding Ranked Choice Voting for a deeper dive into ranked choice voting. From that page:
“With this approach, your vote has a higher chance of influencing the outcome. Your vote is better represented. Your voice is better heard.”
If all 50 states had ranked choice voting in presidential elections, you could cast a vote for me without worrying about the spoiler effect. Your second-choice vote could be for Kamala Harris, and it would count – unless by a miracle I got more votes than Kamala.
Please watch the five videos, read the applicants’ statements, and cast your vote.
Also, please join me in supporting efforts to make ranked choice voting the standard in our country. Scroll down for some resources, as well as organizations you may want to support.
QUALIFIED APPLICANTS:
Ally Richardson, Permaculture Educator:
Katrina Nguyen, Peace Activist:
Stefanie Hawks-Johnson, Marine Biologist:
NOT OFFICIAL APPLICANTS:
RESOURCES AND EFFORTS TO SUPPORT:
I’m running for president on the promise that I’ll declare an ecological overshoot emergency and launch a WWII-scale national project to end overshoot. Learn more about that project at brightfutureproject.us