An idealist votes according to what is right, in his or her view, not what is expedient. Idealistic voters simply sift through the views of the candidates and pick the one who, as best as they can tell, seems to be the best suited for the job. If it does not look like their candidate is going to win, even with their vote, they have at least made a statement about the views they think are important and the policies they think are right for our people.