Every vote counts

? We just witnessed a literal demonstration of the power that infuses every voter?s ballot.

It?s a truism we?ve come to accept, even though we rarely feel that way: Every vote counts. On most election days our individual votes seem lost in a sea of hundreds, thousands, even millions of ballots cast. Did our ?duty? truly make a difference?

On rare occasions, we get to see the literal truth of that familiar phrase. It happened last Tuesday when the preliminary results of the race for the 1st District county commission seat came down to two votes. Yes, a mere two votes separated independent candidate Craig Dodd from Repub?li?can Lori Lalouette-Crawford out of 1,466 ballots cast.

In fact, a case could be made that one ballot made the difference?a toss-up, last-second decision by someone at the polling station to vote Dodd?s way instead Lalou?ette-Crawford?s, resulting in a plurality vote instead of a tie.

Or perhaps it was two voters who opted to vote for the declared write-in candidate instead of one of the two names printed on the ballot, or decided to write in the name of their neighbor or Mickey Mouse as a statement of frustration.

Perhaps it was two voters who simply decided to stay home this year, disgusted by the negative advertising that blanketed so many other races this fall.

Or perhaps it was two voters who saw the long lines at Hillsboro City Hall and decided they were simply too busy to wait it out.

As of this writing, we don?t know how Monday?s election canvass will shape the official and final outcome of the commission race. But we can be confident that if we voted according to our convictions, we did what we could, win or lose, to shape the direction of our future.

And that counts for something. ?DR

Tags from the story
, , ,
Written By
More from Don Ratzlaff
Trojan boys defeat Marion to start year
Led by senior Christian Ratzlaff?s 29 points, Hills?boro employed an impressive long-range...
Read More