From X:

You are a slave and your owner lets you vote between master A who beats you thrice a week, master B who beats you twice a week, and Master C who beats you once a week. If you vote for master B or A are you aiding and abetting that master in assaulting yourself and the other slaves?

If you are then the only libertarian compatible vote is a vote for yourself or for someone with the exact same views as you, since voting for anyone else, no matter how virtuous they may be, would be aiding and abetting them in commuting what you view as immoral.

If voting for A or B is a violation of the NAP then voting for Ron Paul is too, since you could have voted for someone better, yourself.

Now if there is no write-in option I agree that voting for the lesser of two evils is okay.

Dear X:

Another good, challenging question. Thanks for placing me above Ron Paul as a libertarian. I don’t agree with that assessment, but, let’s stipulate, arguendo, that it is true. Then, yes, if I voted for that semi libertarian, Ron Paul, when I could have voted for myself, a purer libertarian, I’d be violating libertarian principle, but only if and only if I had as good a chance of winning as him. But, suppose, millions of people would vote for Ron, and a few dozen would vote for me, even though, I’m presumably a better libertarian than Dr. Paul. Then, a vote for me would be wasted, so I don’t see why it is all that problematic to vote for Congressman Paul.

The Best of Walter E. Block