With widely unpopular candidates for the primary parties — according to Daily News Election Poll results — many voters from the Ball State community have found themselves voting out of their typical party lines in this year's election.
Ball State voters are disappointed with the choices they have on the ballot.
“I didn't want to have to decide between the best of two evils for my first election, but that's just how things turned out,” said Gabby Sellers, a freshman psychology major. "It's just how things are."
While it's too late for voters to change the candidates on top of the ticket, they can change which party they align their votes with.
“Trump, I would never vote for," said Brandon Rogers, a Spanish professor. "I vote Green, and I voted Stein [in 2012], but she hasn’t had a good showing. I’m likely to vote for Hillary.”
Voting third party is becoming an increasingly popular choice this election season.
Junior telecommunications major Jack Hiatt said he decided to support Gary Johnson when Clinton secured the Democratic ticket.
“I trust that he has my best interests at heart. Even if I don’t line up with him on all the issues, I trust him more than the other candidates,” Hiatt said.
Hiatt said this political cycle has shown a breakdown of the system. He believes the election has brought out the worst in people, and it's more polarizing than previous elections.
While many third party voters face criticism for “throwing away" their vote, freshman business administration major Ashley Reddick doesn’t see it that way.
“Many would say that I'm throwing away my vote by supporting Johnson, or stealing it from either Clinton or Trump, but that's just not true,” Reddick said.
Reddick feels like a vote for Gary Johnson isn't a waste. No matter what the outcome of the election may be, Reddick will be satisfied that she supported the candidate she believed would do the best job.
While students don’t seem to be happy with their choices for candidates, they are left with another choice — not voting at all. Senior English studies major Blake Lehr is contemplating this choice.
“I won’t just hand my vote out without considering its implications," Lehr said. "I don’t want to cheapen it. And seeing as I can’t fully support any candidate, I might very well leave the presidential ballot empty and focus on the local elections.”
Dayne Arnett, a senior biochemistry and pre-medicine major, said she will only be voting in the gubernatorial and congressional elections because they affect this country to “an equal or even greater extent.”
Arnett doesn't believe in voting for the "lesser of many evils." She feels likes none of the candidates fit her political ideology.
"I don't feel like I'm doing my right as an American [if I] vote for someone I don't believe could run our country right,” she said.
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