It’s time to
send a message, to let your voice be heard. It doesn’t matter if you want to
vote for Trump or you want to vote for Biden or the others in the race.
Actually, it does matter. This election is the most important than any in a
couple of generations. Not to sound like one of the talking heads, but it is
true.
Every sixty years or so, the nation comes face to
face with its future. It must decide if what it has been is what it wants to be, or if something needs to change. For many, we are at that point. It’s not just
at the top of the ticket either, because the down-ballot may be as important
going forward.
Trump and Biden have two different views about our
future. Each is convinced that they are right and should be elected so that
they can lead us with their vision. Neither, however, has a monopoly on the
future. Each brings a lot of baggage to the table. Neither can invoke their
dream for the country on the rest of us without control of the Senate and the
House. In the last decade or two the States have flexed their federalist
muscles, and in many ways gone their own way.
One editorial that I read said that this election
isn’t about Trump or Biden; it is about religious freedom. Another said it is
about women’s health. Another said it is about same-sex marriage. Another said
it is about our place in the pantheon of nations. It is about all of these
issues and more. When the issues are real, the people come out to vote in large
numbers. Nearly forty million people have already voted. We don’t know if they
are for Trump or Biden. Election Day is expected to be a demonstration in
chaos. So many people are voting early that it will take days to certify the
election.
In some states, the legislature or political parties
have passed laws and sued in court to suppress the voting process. Generally,
they aren’t even sneaky about it. They admit they don’t want some groups to
vote; most often these are Blacks in the South. The President is railing
against vote-by-mail, saying that it is a scam to beat his campaign, to make
him lose. Most of the country disagrees with him.
I have voted by mail for about twenty years with no
problems. This year my concern was that my signature on file with the county
election office might not match the one on the envelope that contained my
ballots. My signature doesn’t look anything like it did seven years ago. The
Secretary of State’s office has computers capable of recognizing certain parts
of your signature and they can verify that it is yours. To ensure that my vote
would count, I downloaded the “Sac County Votes” app onto my phone. I entered
my house number, my Zip code, and my birth date. Voila! “Your ballot is received.”
A good first step. I checked the app a couple of days later, “your ballot is
accepted.” I’m in! Done!
Federal law gives the States until December 8th
to certify their elections. Keep in mind that we are really voting for members
of the Electoral College, not the candidates themselves. The Electoral College
members, by law, must meet in their respective states on December 14 to cast
their votes for President and Vice President. Most states use a winner-take-all
system, so whichever candidate wins the popular vote will win all of the
Electoral College votes. The Congress meets on January 6th, in Joint
Session to count the votes certified by the Electoral College. The Vice
President announces the winner. If there is a tie, each state can cast one vote
in the House for President and two votes in the Senate for Vice President.
Telling anyone whom he or she should vote is way
above my pay grade, but I feel comfortable urging all registered voters to get
out there and vote. In my state, you can register to vote at the polls on
Election Day, and then cast your ballot.
The spelling and grammar check on Word keeps
changing election day to Election Day, just as if it is a holiday. Maybe it
should be!
Please go vote if you haven’t already. Your country
depends on it.
