As we’re all painfully aware, this election cycle is unlike any other. We have two incompetents standing before us. One is a criminal, the other is a con man.

For many people on both sides of the aisle, their vote for president will boil down to deciding which candidate they can tolerate only slightly better than the other. Great job, everyone. In a nation of approximately 319 million people, we’re left with these two jokers.

Although I don’t agree with it, I can actually understand why some people will choose Donald Trump instead of Hillary Clinton come election day. Note that I said “some”, not all. I won’t ever understand why you’d excitedly – and without reservation – cast a vote for Trump, but that’s another subject entirely.

Those of us who figure outside of those categories are left with few options. Do we vote for someone, anyone? Can we leave the “president” line blank and not feel guilt over it? Everyone must make that choice on their own. While I won’t tell you exactly what to do, I will suggest this: don’t vote for president this election.

“But, it’s America! People have fought for, and some have died, for my right to vote!” People have bravely fought for, and died for, your freedom. For your right to vote. And while in general it’s a treasured responsibility, you are free to follow your conscience when it comes to your vote. That’s a freedom people fought for, too. That’s what makes this country – with its many problems – so great.

However, if you look at the Christian community this year, you may have gotten the impression that not voting is actually evil, and not just anti-American.

From things like this…

And articles like this:

New Spirit Revival Center church pastor Rev. Darrell Scott declared Wednesday that there is a “concentrated satanic attack” being waged against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who is believed by some evangelicals to be God’s choice for president

…well-known evangelical Christian, political activist and founder of Wall Builders David Barton urged Christians on the fence about voting for Trump to stop making excuses.

He said he is confident Trump is God’s choice for president because of the record number of Christians who voted for him in the Republican primaries.

You see this beyond the religious community, too. Republicans and conservatives alike will tell you that you must vote for president. We can’t let “Killary” win the White House! Not voting for Trump helps Hillary win! It’s all nonsense. If the GOP wanted a much better chance at beating Hillary, then they should have nominated another person entirely.

You have just as much of a right to not vote as you have to vote.

Come election day, people will share the news that they’ve voted, and will take selfies wearing those oval shaped stickers which announce just that. Even now if you say you’re not voting, others look down on you for the reasons mentioned above. They may think you don’t care or are uninformed. For many non-voters this year, the opposite is and will be true. They are too informed about what stands before us to feel comfortable voting for either major party candidate. And there is nothing wrong with that.

I haven’t yet decided what I’m going to do once election day comes. I may do a write-in as my own protest vote, or I may abstain from choosing someone entirely. One thing is for certain: I won’t be choosing Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. Since one of the two of them will actually win, this means I won’t actually be choosing our next president. I have both the right to choose neither and the right to complain about the final results.

Voting is an excellent way for citizens to participate in determining the course of our country’s future. As a female citizen, I’m proud to have such an exercise at my disposal. However, consciously choosing to not vote for the president is just as important. You’re exercising your freedom, and declaring that yes, we can do much, much better.