Lots of people are yelling about how if you don’t vote for Clinton you may as well be voting for the Trump monster. Because of the wonders of the electoral college, that’s not true in many states.

If you’re a lefty who lives in a solid red state where Clinton can’t win, vote for whoever you want. Vote for Jill Stein! There’s no chance Clinton can win in your state and getting strong support for your third party candidate will push the Democratic party left, feed money to that party (and their platform), and feel damn good.

If you live in a solid blue state, it’s also probably totally safe to vote for Jill Stein without helping to turn things for Trump.

BUT if you live in a contested/swing state and the thought of Trump for President fills you with unspeakable horror, hold your nose and vote for Clinton.

Strategic voting feels shitty, so make sure you actually need to vote strategically.

This kind of thing doesn’t just apply to the presidential election. Is the Democrat in your district winning by a huge margin, but you think they’re Republican-lite? I bet there’s someone on the ticket closer to your views. Vote for them and tell that incumbent Democrat why they lost your vote.

This isn’t the most effective way to influence political change, but if you’re going to go to the ballot box, why not?