The election is only 20 days away. Early voting has begun in some states, and others are about to receive their mail ballots very soon. We all are going to be staring at that category for “President of the United States” with a choice to make. And I’d say a overwhelming majority of the American people simply don’t like their choices.

I don't think America should elect any president in 2016. We need to be single for a few years and find ourselves

— ➞ (@vinnycrack) May 7, 2016

If only.

Now, depending on where you live, and what the polls are saying, many of us know that our presidential vote is essentially worthless. I live in an extremely deep blue state that voted for Bernie Sanders in the primaries, so the Democrats of the state are going to fall into line like good little minions and vote Hillary. If I lived in a swing state where my vote would mean something, I would have a much harder decision to make. But I don’t, so I get to make a decision that my conscience can live with.

I’ve decided to write in Mike Pence for president.

For me, at least, this has become the simplest solution to a quandary that frankly, has kept me up at night.

Hillary is corrupt on levels that we probably can’t even imagine, has consistently surrounded herself with bad actors, tied herself to a sleazeball, let four men die on her watch, and has enough health issues to disqualify her from what is undeniably a high-stress job. Trump is a loose cannon who continues to embarrass the GOP at every turn with issues that any reasonable vetting group should have identified over a year ago – or if you had, you know, kept up with celebrity news over the last 30 years or watched a single episode of “The Apprentice.” Now, if you want to vote Trump, I have no issue with that. Each person has to vote their own conscience with the information they have at hand. And my reality is that given the layout of the electoral college, my vote in Washington state is less equal than someone who lives in Florida, or Ohio, or Nevada, or Colorado, where the race will likely be decided.

The third party choices are also problematic. Gary Johnson looked promising initially, but faltered badly. Evan McMullin is an intriguing candidate, but voting for him means even more work. Here are my reasons for writing in Mike Pence.

1) His name is already approved to be on the ballot.
The spelling is even RIGHT THERE. Seriously, just look right under Donald Trump’s name and you’ll see it! Just copy it onto the write-in line! The electors in each state have already been selected by the parties. While some electors are not bound by state law to cast their vote according to the popular vote, most will. It would be much easier for a GOP elector to cast their ballot for Mike Pence, who was already on the party ticket, than for Evan McMullin (and again, spelling counts).

2) Pence made a good impression on the country at large in the vice presidential debate.
While Tim Kaine continually interrupted the debate like a four year old, the public impression of Pence was that of a calm, collected adult who had a firm grasp of the issues. And since there is only one vice presidential debate, that good impression is the lasting one.

3) Pence has a solid governing resume and conservative credentials.
Hillary ran the State Department and lost $6 billion. Trump has a large business conglomerate (with some questionable business practices), but has never been “forced” to get along with people that he can’t fire. Pence is currently governor of Indiana, has a long record in public office, and his record of being consistently pro-life speaks volumes. Yes, he’s not as flashy or attention-getting as even some of the primary candidates. He’s solid, reliable, and gets along well with others. Which is pretty much what I want out of a president.

If you read all of my reasons listed above and still say, “The only way I will support Pence is by voting for Trump,” that’s fine. I am not going to attempt to talk you out of that. If you read this and say, “I live in a swing state and I have to vote for Trump,” again, I get it. Your vote counts more this time around than mine. I’m not going to dissuade you from that.

But if you’re like me, and think both choices are bad ones, then I encourage you to consider voting for the only consistent conservative that’s actually on the ballot. All you have to do is just copy his name from the vice presidential position and write it down for president.

I’m voting for Mike Pence.