Americans are the first people whom Heaven has favored with an opportunity of deliberating upon and choosing the forms of government under which they should live. – John Jay
John Jay’s words illustrate how rare it is for citizens to elect their own leaders. Even in some countries that hold elections, it’s not a legitimate process. In North Korea for instance, Kim Jong-Un regularly receives over 99% of the vote. There are two boxes at polling places in North Korea – one box saying you’re voting for Kim Jong-Un and another box that means you will probably never be seen again. Vladimir Putin wins elections with well over 70% of the vote. If there’s any opposition that truly threatens Putin’s power, that opponent mysteriously disappears or dies. We saw this with the assassination of Putin’s rival Alexei Navalny just last week.
Even in more advanced and freer countries we see elections marred by fraud and irregularities. By and large elections in the United States are conducted with integrity and their legitimacy is not questioned. And yet, there were several anomalies that occurred in our 2020 Presidential elections that still do not add up. Many states have taken measures to prevent those questionable occurrences in future elections; but some have not. That’s a topic for another time and place.
Voting is a basic obligation for every self-governing citizen. This is self-evident. We live in a representative republic where we elect people to advance public policies the plurality of their constituents support. If you do not make the effort to select your government officials, you really have no basis to complain about the results.
So, does one person’s vote really matter? Well, David Yancey and Shelly Simmonds both think so.
In the Virginia House of Delegates 2017 election, control of the chamber hung in the balance. Republicans had held the majority since 2000 and predictions were they’d retain their majority by a very narrow margin. The Yancey/Simmonds race was predicted to determine if the GOP would retain control.
Once the polls closed the ballots were totaled. The result? Yancey netted 11,608 votes. Simmonds netted 11,608 votes. The result was a tie!
One mandatory recount was conducted….and then another. The result was the same. A three-judge panel then verified the election results and declared a tie. So, what to do now? Another election? Nope. The decision was to leave it to chance.
In an event that was covered by the media like the NFL Draft, the tie was broken. David Yancey’s name was placed in one film container. Shelly Simmonds’ name was placed in another. Both canisters were placed in a ceramic bowl. The election official put in his hand, stirred the canisters around and removed one from the bowl. He opened up the container and pulled out a name. David Yancey was declared the winner of the election and Shelly Simmonds conceded.
I’m sure that Shelly Simmonds’ next thought was, “Could I have knocked on one more door and gotten another voter to the polls?” That’s a legitimate question, but a better question was asked by Simmonds supporters who found an excuse not to vote. Maybe the line was too long. Maybe I forgot. Maybe I meant to go before work but didn’t, and just wanted to go home afterward. There were several Yancey supporters who asked themselves this same question.
We can make all kinds of excuses not to act. Yet, that’s all they are – excuses.
On April 2nd municipal elections will be held on issues varying by town and county. Most will be electing school board members. Today, our education system is in a shambles. School administrators and school boards have a direct impact on curricula and governing policies that directly affect the education of our children – the future leaders of our country.
Due to profligate spending, our federal government has saddled each of our children with $250,000+ in national debt. Don’t you think it’s worth your time to get educated about the candidates who are running? Don’t you think it’s worth your time to make the effort to vote for our children’s best interests? Don’t you think it’s worth your time to fulfill this basic obligation of a self-governing citizen?
I know most of you will answer “yes” to these questions. So, what else can we do? We can campaign for our chosen candidates. We can door knock for them. We can speak with reluctant like-minded voters and offer to carpool them to your precinct on election day. We can go to school board and city council meetings to witness the process and make our concerns heard. In meetings where controversial issues are heard, the turnout almost always increases. But what about the times when less sensational business is conducted? Maybe if more people got involved more often these controversial policies would never come to bear.
I encourage each of you to know the people running in your local elections. Support them if you choose. Get out and vote your values on April 2nd. You never know when your vote may be the one that swings an election.
In liberty,
Brett
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