How Are Reason Staffers Voting in 2024?
This year, Reason celebrates 20 years of disclosing our votes. Since 2004, we have been asking—though not requiring—Reason staffers to explain who they’re voting for and why in presidential election years. Believe me when I tell you we don’t do this for our own health. We typically take a beating from every direction for the balance of our votes, or lack thereof. But we think it’s important for the people who read, watch, and listen to Reason to know where our writers, editors, and producers are coming from. Who we vote for is a highly imperfect measure of our biases, but it’s one we’re happy to share in the spirit of transparency. This election—and every election—we urge other publications to follow our lead.
Traditionally, this survey yields a high percentage of Libertarian Party (L.P.) voters and nonvoters, and that remains true in 2024. This year we have 12 Chase Oliver voters (many of whom have horribly mean things to say about the L.P.), six nonvoters, three Kamala Harris voters (many of whom have horribly mean things to say about Harris), one Nikki Haley write-in, one Kennedy write-in (the Fox News host, not RFK Jr.), and two undecideds (one 50/50 Trump/Oliver and one 50/50 Trump/nobody). In general, the tone of the forum is bleak and discouraged, in keeping with the mood of the American public.
Reason is published by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and therefore doesn’t endorse particular candidates. But we also don’t think one party or person ever fully embodies the things that are important to us, including individual liberty, free markets, and the rule of law. We know there is life outside of politics, and we look forward to returning to it once the election is over.
Now for some legalese: Nothing in what follows should be construed as an official endorsement of any candidate or cause. These are the personal views of individual participants and not the institutional views of Reason or Reason Foundation. But then, you knew that. —Katherine Mangu-Ward
Check out our past voting surveys from 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020.
César Báez
Assistant Producer
Who will get your vote in the 2024 presidential election? If I were eligible to vote, I wouldn’t choose any major-party candidate. Donald Trump’s refusal to accept the 2020 election result is a huge red flag for me, as I fled Venezuela in part because the dictator, Nicolás Maduro, refused to acknowledge the election results and transfer power. But I also couldn’t support Kamala Harris. Her stance on price controls mirrors the disastrous policies that led to food shortages and starvation in Venezuela. Plus, the harshest crackdown on asylum rights occurred when she was vice president. Despite granting Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelans, deportation flights resumed, sending dissidents back to jail in Venezuela. I’ve never had the right to vote in free elections, but even here, I wouldn’t cast a vote supporting the “lesser evil.”
What past vote do you most regret? This was not a vote, but in 2016, I believed Donald Trump was the best option, mainly because of what I thought was his foreign policy approach: less nonsense intervention worldwide but maximum pressure against autocratic regimes. At the end of his presidency, he praised autocrats like Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, and Nicolás Maduro.
Apart from the presidency, what is the most important race or ballot initiative being decided this fall? Arizona’s Proposition 314 criminalizes undocumented immigrants, equating drug traffickers with refugees. It is likely to pass due to anti-immigrant sentiment. Still, this proposition redundantly bans crimes covered by federal law and risks promoting racial profiling against Latinos by state and local police.
Ronald Bailey
Science Correspondent
Who will get your vote in the 2024 presidential election? Back in 2008, I stated that “the Republicans must be punished and punished hard.” They must be punished even harder in 2024! Given how the polls are running in Virginia, I will vote Libertarian: Chase Oliver/Mike ter Maat.
What past vote do you most regret? So many options! Certainly, George McGovern in 1972. Our country would have been in a much better place socially and economically had Mitt Romney won in 2012, so I feel some regret for my vote for Gary Johnson.
Apart from the presidency, what is the most important race or ballot initiative being decided this fall? Party primaries consistently throw up unhinged dimwits as candidates. So I am all in on ranked choice voting initiatives that are appearing in five states and D.C. Our city is also considering the adoption of ranked choice voting.
Billy Binion
Reporter
Who will get your vote in the 2024 presidential election? Whether or not I’ll be eligible to vote is unclear, as I’m a new D.C. resident without an immediate path to establishing residency. (The last time I registered to vote I was living in Los Angeles, and there is a 0 percent chance I will be going through the hoopla to vote absentee.) But if the stars align, I’ll vote for Chase Oliver. Despite having some policy differences with him, I cannot bring myself to vote for Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, neither of whom comes close to representing my values. D.C. also sways heavily Democratic, so the least I can do—the only thing I can do?—with my vote is to send a message that someone here would appreciate more choices.
What past vote do you most regret? Unless the unthinkable happened and my one singular vote swayed the course of history, I feel it unwise to spend emotional energy over past ballots I’ve cast. If I had to pick one, I suppose it would be the first election I voted in, which happened in my early college days when I was still sometimes regurgitating my parents’ beliefs as my own. (I don’t even remember who was on that ballot, so, again, I am spending approximately no emotional energy on this.)
Apart from the presidency, what is the most important race or ballot initiative being decided this fall? I’ll be interested to see how ranked choice voting fares in D.C. Viva ranked choice voting.
Eric Boehm
Reporter
Who will get your vote in the 2024 presidential election? If I vote, it will be for Chase Oliver. Donald Trump is utterly unfit for the office. Kamala Harris is unprepared and unprincipled. Oliver at least has the right values, and he represents the best of what the Libertarian Party could be.
What past vote do you most regret? No single vote is worth enough to be regretted.
Apart from the presidency, what is the most important race or ballot initiative being decided this fall? I’ll be closely watching the ballot initiatives in several Western states (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and Nevada) that would do away with partisan primaries in some future elections in favor of top-four or top-five systems. That’s an imperfect reform, but it would limit the power of the lunatic fringe in both parties and allow for more robust political competition.
Christian Britschgi
Reporter
Who will get your vote in the 2024 presidential election? No one. Donald Trump and Kamala Harris offer slightly different flavors of the same big-government, big-spending, protectionist, interventionist agenda that’s anathema to the libertarian direction I’d like to see the country go. Additionally, Trump’s call for deporting millions of people and Harris’ limitless support for abortion demonstrate a fundamental, disqualifying lack of respect for individual dignity and freedom. Chase Oliver is running for president on the Libertarian Party ticket, much to the chagrin of the Libertarian Party. I wish him well but feel no particular obligation to vote for him. If there were a gun to my head, I’d cast a ballot for Harris given that Trump attempted to steal the last election. That’s really something that can’t (or at least shouldn’t) be tolerated. But, since this is America, there is no gun to my head forcing me to vote, and therefore I won’t.
What past vote do you most regret? I’ve voted twice in my life. Once for a random assortment of Boise City Council candidates in 2011 and once for Gary Johnson in 2012. Of those, I don’t regret my vote for Gary.
Apart from the presidency, what is the most important race or ballot initiative being decided this fall? Proposition 33 in California would repeal state-level limitations on local rent control laws. Local governments are already drafting ruinous rent control policies to take effect if it passes—something recent polling suggests is within the realm of possibility.
In recent years, California has made halting progress toward liberalizing a restrictive land use regime that’s responsible for making the Golden State the epicenter of America’s housing cost and homelessness crises.
Giving local governments carte blanche to regulate rents would destroy that progress and then some. Rent control has been a disaster everywhere it’s been tried. It reduces the supply and quality of rental housing and makes cities more expensive and hostile to newcomers.
California has the largest population and largest economy of any state in the country. Despite itself, it continues to produce and sustain innovative, dynamic industries that are building our bright, techno-optimist future.
Regardless of where in the country you live, you should want to see a California that’s growing, prosperous, and relatively free. A victory for Proposition 33 would be a huge step back for the state, and therefore, the country.
Elizabeth Nolan Brown
Senior Editor
Who will get your vote in the 2024 presidential election? Chase Oliver. The Libertarian Party may be a hot mess, but it’s still the hot mess closest to my heart. And I was happy to see Oliver get the party’s nomination. It’s a lovely rebuke to the folks who think libertarians are or should be largely culturally conservative.
What past vote do you most regret? I’ve only voted in two past presidential elections—in 2008 (for Barack Obama) and in 2020 (for Jo Jorgensen)—and I don’t really regret either. There are plenty of things to criticize about the Obama presidency, but I still think it was preferable to a John McCain presidency. Also, to quote Eric Boehm from last election cycle: “I can’t imagine thinking a single vote is valuable enough to spend time regretting.”
Apart from the presidency, what is the most important race or ballot initiative being decided this fall? I’ll be closely watching the abortion initiatives on state ballots. Since the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, state ballot initiatives concerning abortion have been big—and, so far, the pro-choice position has come out on top in every state where they have been tried, including in places like Kansas and Ohio. It will be interesting to see if this persists this year, especially in states like Florida, Missouri, and South Dakota.
Emma Camp
Assistant Editor
Who will get your vote in the 2024 presidential election? Chase Oliver. I had originally planned not to vote for anyone. But I was pleasantly surprised when Oliver won the Libertarian Party nomination despite the state of the current L.P. leadership, which seems attached less to advancing liberty than to owning the libs.
I live in profoundly blue D.C., which frees me from any feeble notion that my vote could impact the presidential election, and therefore from any feeling of obligation to vote for anyone other than the candidate who best aligns with my values. Of the options, Oliver comes closest to meeting my small-l libertarian priorities.
If I lived in a swing state, I would cast an extremely unenthusiastic vote for Kamala Harris. While I have successfully resisted becoming coconut-pilled, I do sincerely hope Harris wins because Donald Trump is an aspiring authoritarian maniac.
What past vote do you most regret? I thankfully haven’t cast enough ballots in tight enough races to think any of my votes are worth regretting.
Apart from the presidency, what is the most important race or ballot initiative being decided this fall? I’ll be closely watching the ranked choice voting ballot measures in Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, and Oregon, and voting in favor of it in D.C. Surprise, surprise, a third-party voter likes ranked choice voting.
C.J. Ciaramella
Criminal Justice Reporter
Who will get your vote in the 2024 presidential election? In 2020 I broke my 16-year streak of not voting in presidential elections because I thought Donald Trump was actually unfit for office by whatever standard you wanted to use: mentally, emotionally, ethically. It turns out I was 100 percent correct, because then he tried to steal the election and ginned up a mob of his fans to storm the Capitol building.
I would prefer to return to not voting, but Republicans insisted on rewarding Trump for his behavior by nominating him again. I will once more vote for the candidate with the best chance of beating him, Kamala Harris, because Trump doesn’t deserve to hold office and I find him personally detestable.
What past vote do you most regret? Because of my long streak of not voting, I’m unburdened by what has been.
Apart from the presidency, what is the most important race or ballot initiative being decided this fall? The most important elections are for your local sheriff and prosecutor offices, whose policies are far more likely to directly impact your community than whoever is sitting in the Oval Office.
Bekah Congdon
Deputy Managing Editor
Who will get your vote in the 2024 presidential election?
Despite the best efforts of the Libertarian Party’s loathsome leadership—embracing bigotry, antisemitism, and very-onlineism—the delegates m
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