First, voting is a voluntary action. Our leaders never made it mandatory for all citizens to vote, perhaps with the reasoning that a choice in this regard will allow people to consider their options more carefully. When people are not duty-bound to vote, they “self-select” themselves into the process. So, the first step—free yourself from all deontological obligations to vote. You should vote only if you feel passionate about it.

Second, in close contests like this one, it is sometimes argued that people should not pay attention to a thousand things and rather cast a conscience-vote. I beg to differ. What come under the label of “conscience” are often our impulses, instinctive likes and dislikes, misconceptions and arbitrary mental constructions. Therefore, you should never unhesitatingly follow the verdict of your conscience without proper reflection. Here, intuition should be the drowning man’s last straw.

Third, sincere voting is your best bet. You cannot hope to alter the outcome of the election by any degree of sophistication on your part. This also means that your vote will have a disproportionately small consequence on your own life. At the same time, it is likely to have an effect, albeit small, on many others. But on the whole, the impact of your vote on others will far outweigh the impact on you. This leads us to a moral problem that can be solved only if you are willing to distance your vote from your self-regarding desires. Vote in your best interest but also vote in what you perceive to be the best interest of others.

Fourth, do not succumb to politics of slander. None of the candidates, as far as I know, has a criminal record. Not one of them is known to have been charged for corruption, misdemeanor or felony. Vote on the basis of the candidates’ policies and their previous records. But do not expect something from them that you would not not expect from yourself. Candidates cannot be perfect. Until and unless you have solid grounds for believing so, do not personally accuse someone for shipping out jobs to China or shutting down coal mines. Like most of us, you don’t know.

Fifth, look at the actual content of your vote. Vote as if your vote is the only one that counts. It does not matter if you are in a blue state  or a swing state. Do not think about how others are going to vote. See if you are at the polling station on time. See if you cast your ballot correctly.

Sixth, do not vote for President Obama even if you agree with him. In terms of policies, what Obama has on offer is similar to what several other third-party candidates have for you. If you are a staunch libertarian, vote for Gary Johnson. If you like green, vote for Jill Stein. If you want justice, vote for Rocky Anderson.

Finally, vote for Governor Mitt Romney (of course, only if you agree with him). If you don’t, go back to the previous paragraph.

That is all. I leave the rest to your best judgment.