Gary Johnson has seen his poll numbers fall sharply in the final weeks before Election Day, but as he and the Libertarian Party shoot for the benchmark of 5 percent of the vote nationally, there could be an unseen and still uncounted boost from an unlikely source — marijuana.
After consistently polling over 10 percent throughout the summer, Johnson has taken a major dip in the final presidential polls as Election Day nears. The poll aggregator RealClearPolitics show him just a hair under 5 percent in the days before America goes to the polls to pick the next president.
But as Johnson aims for the all-important 5 percent barrier, which would allow the Libertarian Party to receive matching federal funding in the next election, there is evidence that the many states voting on marijuana legalization could help his final numbers rise.
As the Libertarian Party’s candidate, Johnson is the biggest proponent of legalizing marijuana on the national stage. He has said openly that he is a marijuana user — though he has stopped during the campaign — and would push for the legalization of marijuana nationally.
That could end up being a major asset to Johnson, with nine states voting on Election Day to legalize marijuana in some form. In four states, voters decide whether to legalize medical marijuana — Arkansas, Florida, North Dakota, and Montana. And five more states will be voting on an even more expansive measure to legalize recreational marijuana — California, Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada.
Gary Johnson has taken a very vocal stance in favor of marijuana, telling the International Business Times that the ill-fated war on drugs has had a devastating effect on the United States.
“Oh, our drug laws. Tens of millions of Americans, but for drug laws, who are now convicted felons, would otherwise be taxpaying, law-abiding citizens. And we have the highest incarceration rate in the world, and at the heart of that is the drug war. We need to be looking at pardoning those convicted felons that have served out their sentences, and we need to look to be pardoning those that are in prison for victimless, nonviolent crime.”
Yeah, we definitely need to end the war on drugs… now!
“On any given day in the United States, at least… https://t.co/OBybZ8Kc2A
— Vets 4 Gary Johnson (@Veterans4GJ) October 30, 2016
And in the final days before Election Day, Johnson appeared to lean on marijuana legalization efforts as a way to shore up his own sagging poll numbers. Johnson spent the weekend campaigning in California, where the Los Angeles Times noted would give him a chance to boost his polls and pick up extra votes.
The report noted that Johnson’s visit likely corresponds to the marijuana ballot initiative and that the state’s expected blowout win for Hillary Clinton giving him the chance to earn more votes.
“Barring an unprecedented turn of events, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton will win California’s 55 electoral votes on Tuesday. So voters who like third-party candidates such as Johnson may feel more comfortable voting for them as opposed to voters who live in states where the race is tight.”
While there is no guarantee that voters in favor of legalizing marijuana would also vote for the Libertarian Party, there is evidence of a strong correlation between the two groups. The New York Times noted that Johnson’s support for legalized marijuana “appeals to many young people, while putting him out of step with his former party.”
Gary Johnson on marijuana: “I applaud any state that legalizes” https://t.co/KAZz3nHDzo
— Capitol Alert (@CapitolAlert) November 4, 2016
And if young people who turn out to help legalize marijuana also end up casting their ballots for the Libertarian Party’s candidate, it could give Gary Johnson a boost that is not showing up in the polls. Younger voters have traditionally been one of the least reliable demographics on Election Day, and as a result, most pollsters skew against including these younger voters in the likely voter formulas that help spit out their final poll numbers.
That has thrown off polling in the past, The Huffington Post noted.
“Pollsters including Gallup miscalled the 2012 election in large part because they didn’t expect Obama’s coalition of young and minority voters to turn out as strongly as that demographic did,” the report noted.
And even if efforts to legalize marijuana only end up giving a small boost to the Libertarian Party, that may be all it takes. The final presidential polls show Gary Johnson at 4.8 percent, so reaching the 5 percent marker may be well within reach.
[Featured Image by George Frey/Getty Images]