Animal Collective Urge Fans Not to Vote Third-Party, Citing Nader 2000 Regrets

Today is Election Day in the United States, and Animal Collective have joined the ranks of artists who have publicly thrown their support behind Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. In an Instagram post, the band endorsed Clinton and also urged fans not to choose a third-party candidate as a protest vote. “To those who share a similar world view to us but are choosing to stay home or vote for a third party as a protest because you think there is no difference between Clinton and Trump, we know how you feel to some extent,” the caption reads.

The band then explains how some of the members voted for Green Party candidate Ralph Nader in 2000, and regret it. “Some of us were taken in by that argument, voted for him, and then watched as Gore lost Florida by a smaller margin than the votes Nader received. We then watched our government ignore the Kyoto Protocol, further deregulate financial markets, and start a preemptive war with Iraq (just to name a few things). There was a difference then. There is a difference now. Please vote today and consider your actions carefully, whatever they may be.” Find the full statement below.

Thanks to @headcountorg for all the great work they did registering voters at our shows this year. Hopefully you’ve registered, and if so, please make sure to get out and vote. We’ve been quiet this election aside from registration drives, but we feel compelled to say our support is with Hillary Clinton today. To those who share a similar world view to us but are choosing to stay home or vote for a 3rd party as a protest because you think there is no difference between Clinton and Trump, we know how you feel to some extent. The 2000 election was the first election all four of us could vote, and we had a 3rd party candidate in Ralph Nader saying there was no difference between the two major party candidates. Some of us were taken in by that argument, voted for him, and then watched as Gore lost Florida by a smaller margin than the votes Nader received. We then watched our government ignore the Kyoto Protocol, further deregulate financial markets, and start a preemptive war with Iraq (just to name a few things). There was a difference then. There is a difference now. Please vote today and consider your actions carefully, whatever they may be. We’ve each decided #imwithher – AC

A photo posted by Animal Collective (@anmlcollective) on Nov 7, 2016 at 9:24pm PST

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