Just say "no"

As a conservative, over the past few years, I have been faced with a choice to either refrain from voting for an particular candidate with whom I do not agree (but who has the party endorsement and the ability to win--practically speaking) or to vote for someone who shares my values much more closely but who has a slim chance of winning--thereby making it much easier for the opposing candidate (with whom I disagree on just about everything) to win. This struggle, then, becomes not so much a matter of voting "for" one candidate as much as voting "against" the other candidate. So, here's my idea...

Why not make it possible to simply vote "no" on a candidate without necessarily voting "yes" on his/her opponent? So, the "no" vote would count against the candidate by subtracting from their vote tally, but it would not automatically throw support to the other candidate (as is the case now). You could still only make one vote (i.e.--you could not simultaneously vote "yes" for one and "no" for the other)--voting "yes" for either candidate (thereby adding to their vote tally) or "no" for either candidate (thereby subtracting from their vote tally). Either way, it would certainly make my dilemma easier.

I know it's not terribly practical...and it has just about as much chance of being implemented as Congress NOT voting themselves a pay raise...but I think it's food for thought all the same.