'Bernie or bust' for Phillie protesters

Thousands of Bernie Sanders' supporters protesting outside the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia cheered loudly during roll call as states cast their votes in favor of the senator. They ultimately erupted in boos once Hillary Clinton clinched the nomination.

The number of votes needed for the nomination was 2,382. Bernie Sanders won 14 states and territories with a total of 1,865 votes, while Hillary Clinton won 42 states and territories with 2,842 votes during roll call at this year's convention.

"When was the last time that so many people from our own party came out to protest our own candidate?" asked Natalie Delgado, a fervent 27-year-old Bernie supporter from Lodi, New Jersey.

She drove down to Philadelphia to protest the DNC along with her friends. Natalie is just one of many young people who are inspired by Sanders' rhetoric to participate actively in politics and who are unhappy with the current political system in the US.

"We love Bernie's ideals and we stand by those ideals but not the man necessarily," said Nick Santacroce, a 29-year-old medical technologist and Natalie's friend.

Disillusioned with the end of Bernie's campaign, neither will be voting for Hillary Clinton despite Sanders' recent endorsement of the former First Lady.

"They view us as Bernie's puppets and that we will blindly follow anything that he tells us - because they are party puppets and follow anything their chairman tells them," said Delgado. "I'll be writing in Bernie on the ballot."

Voting your blue conscience

Her friend, Nick, is currently undecided but is also considering writing Bernie on the ballot. "I'll most likely write in Bernie's name but only because I live in a blue state," says Nick.

Being in a "blue state" means that the state majority will vote Democrat and guarantees that the state's votes will go to Clinton in the electoral college during the general election, another aspect of American politics that has been heavily criticized as it does not represent a direct democracy.

Deborah Kim from Seattle flew to Philadelphia also to protest and show her discontent with the Democratic Party. "I will not be voting Democrat during this election. We want to make a point and show the party that we do not agree with their practices," said Kim, who will be voting for third-party candidate Jill Stein.

Kim admitted that she feels safe voting for Jill Stein since she lives in a blue state as well. If she lived in a swing state, she would reluctantly vote for Hillary Clinton as she understands that voting third-party could translate into helping the Republican Party.

Third-party candidates have failed to obtain more than one percent of the popular votes in the last three elections, while the rest of the votes have been divided within the well-established Democratic and Republican parties.

"This is no longer working for us. We need to free ourselves from the two-party system," said Maria Guido from Pittsburgh. She made the trip to her state's largest city to show support for Bernie Sanders.

"I have not lost any respect for Bernie. I understand that he was forced to play ball with the Democrats and did what he had to do," said Guido, who was sporting a "Bernie or Bust" T-shirt and buttons with #NeverHillary written on them.

'I'm with him'

Protesters carrying signs continued their anti-Clinton chants in unison despite the summer heat until sunset. Among them was Christopher Norris, an activist with NextGen Climate. He made blue buttons with the inscription "Flip-a-Delegate" on them in the hope of getting delegates to change their vote for the senator from Vermont.

"I already voted for Bernie," he proudly said after being asked who he will be voting for during the general election. "I don't support corruption," said Norris, referring to the leaked DNC emails earlier this week.

"I know how we can beat Trump. We have already laid it out there for the DNC. Michelle Obama said, 'When they go low, we go high.' We need to go up and above; we have to beat corruption with integrity. Otherwise you're your own enemy and you're going to lose," said Norris.

Never Trump

For some, voting for Clinton means voting against the ideals proposed by the Sanders' campaign, but the idea of Donald Trump becoming president is enough to get them to side with the Democratic nominee.

"She'll do more good than Trump and she'll do less harm," said Jessica Beaty, a 38-year-old lawyer from Carbondale, Illinois. She came to show her support for the Sanders campaign along with her friend Erin Funk, who is disappointed with the result but will be voting for Clinton as she fears a Trump presidency.

"Either we send a message that will only support a progressive agenda or we mitigate present harm - that's a tough choice to make and I haven't made it yet," said Beaty.

Sanders' supporters are still planning protests every day of the Democratic National Convention. Hillary Clinton will have to use this time to get their support by her side to beat Trump in the general election, a feat that seems impossible for the Sanders crowd – at least for now.