Americans have so much to be thankful for, especially election integrity. Fraud in the presidential election would have made future voters wonder if the country’s method of choosing leaders can ever be trusted again.
Fortunately, only about 70,000 voting problems were reported — a drop in the bucket, considering how many voting places dot this favored land. Many of those problems were trifling, such as instances in Nevada, North Carolina, Texas, and Ohio, where ballot casters complained that the voting machines automatically switched their votes from the Republican nominee to the other guy — right before their eyes! Absurd … only disgruntled voters determined to disrupt an honest election process would voice such false accusations.
In Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love, no one should hate the voting process, despite the fact that, of the 19,605 votes cast, Romney received not a single one, and even though he won fifty-five of the state’s sixty-seven counties, he lost the entire state by a wide margin. Obviously, those Keystone state folks, most of whom probably prefer self-reliance to dependence on government, just don’t like Massachusetts’ governor.
Election officials are upstanding professionals, but because they must deal with so many tallies, nobody can fault them for making a few minor mathematical errors. For example, in Wood County, Ohio, the voting age population totals 98,213, but on Election Day, 106,258 were registered to vote. Why, the difference is only about 8,000 votes — nothing at all to be concerned about, just as the fact that the records of ten Colorado counties show voter registration rates of more than one hundred percent.
Many Ohioans who showed up at the polls were turned away because, as the election overseers assured them, they had already voted. They were furious, but shouldn’t have been. The officials who affirmed that they had already cast their ballots would never lie.
Among military voters, many of whom were no doubt thrilled that their commander-in-chief won, because he is always devising pay incentives for the nation’s brave men and women in uniform, participation in the election presented no real problems, even though the Naval Enlisted Reserve Association reported that thousands of military votes were never counted.
One highly esteemed military man, Republican Allen West, a Florida representative and retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, ran a strong reelection race, but though he led by a comfortable margin, ended up losing. Surely his defeat had nothing to do with the fact that, in St. Lucie County, 4,000 votes were shifted to his opponent’s ballot box in the wee hours of election night.
Americans have much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. In addition to four more years of governmental transparency, fiscal responsibility, support of the strongest military in the world, nationalized health care, courageous leadership in foreign policy, illegal immigration control, increased freedom to destroy unborn children, fair treatment for homosexuals, skyrocketing investment in entitlement programs, and adherence to the Christian principles on which this country was founded, they must not forget to be thankful for election integrity.
Jimmy Reed is an Oxford, Mississippi resident, Ole Miss and Delta State University alumnus, Vietnam Era Army Veteran, former Mississippi Delta cotton farmer and ginner, author, and retired college teacher.
This story is a selection from Jimmy Reed’s latest book, entitled The Jaybird Tales.
Copies, including personalized autographs, can be reserved by notifying the author via email (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)).
