The Jill Stein Vote: Did It Matter in 2016?
So, you know how the 2016 US Presidential Election was crazy? It's been talked about forever, right? Well, one thing people always bring up is Jill Stein's Green Party run and how her votes might've, maybe, possibly... changed the outcome? Let's dive into the data and see if there's any truth to this theory.
How Many Votes Did Jill Stein Get?
Jill Stein ended up with a respectable 1.44% of the popular vote, a total of over 1.2 million votes. That's not a lot compared to Hillary Clinton (48.2%) and Donald Trump (46.1%), but it's still a significant number, especially for a third-party candidate.
The Crucial States: Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania
The big question is, could those 1.2 million votes have made a difference in the electoral college? You see, it wasn't the popular vote that decided the election - it was the electoral college. And the three states that were totally crucial were Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
These were all states that went to Trump by very small margins. And here's where things get interesting:
- Wisconsin: Trump won by 22,748 votes. Stein got 31,072 votes.
- Michigan: Trump won by 10,704 votes. Stein got 51,463 votes.
- Pennsylvania: Trump won by 44,292 votes. Stein got 49,941 votes.
Whoa! Stein received more votes in these three states than Trump's margin of victory. That means, if those votes had gone to Clinton instead, she would have won the election. Mind. Blown.
The Counterargument: It's Not That Simple
Now, let's be real. It's super tricky to say for sure that those votes would have gone to Clinton if Stein wasn't in the race. Some people argue that Green Party voters are totally against Trump, so they would have voted for Clinton if Stein wasn't an option. Others argue that Green Party voters are more aligned with Stein's values and wouldn't have voted for Clinton no matter what.
The Bottom Line
So, did the Jill Stein vote change the 2016 election? There's no way to know for sure. But the data strongly suggests that her votes could have been enough to swing the election in Clinton's favor. This whole thing is still a hot topic of debate, and probably will be for a long time!