Is Your Vote Wasted?

by

John Pittenger

   It's not surprising, when the total number of votes cast for President in 2000 exceeded 100,000,000 for the first time, that people are asking themselves, "Does my vote really count?"

   The answer is crystal clear: in a close election every vote counts, and you can never tell ahead of time what elections will be close.

Three recent examples:

1. In 2000, Al Gore lost the presidential election because he lost Florida by 538 votes out of 7 million (a lot of us think it was stolen from him, a theft ratified by the Supreme Court, but that's another story). One more vote in each Florida precinct would have given Gore the presidency and prevented our current disasters.

2. In the 2003 primary, Barbara Zimmerman, the only Democrat on the Hempfield Area School Board, appeared on election night to have lost her bid for re-nomination in the Republican primary (she had cross-filed) by 2,091 to 2,088. However, the official recount the following week gave her six additional votes and she won by 2,094 to 2,091, setting the stage for her triumphant reelection in November.

3. This past November, voters filled three vacancies on the state Superior Court. Democrats won two of the contests handily, but in the third, Judge John Driscoll, the Democrat, is losing to his Republican opponent by 28 votes out of 2,300,000 (the case is still in the courts, but his chances don't look good).

  So --- do you still think your vote doesn't count? In fact, you can cast two votes to end George W. Bush's lease on the White House later this year.

   Here's how: find someone -- a member of your household, a neighbor or co-worker -- who is a Democrat and isn't registered to vote. Get that person a voter registration form, either through the Internet (click here for registration form) or from a Democratic Committee person (click here for list of Hempfield committee persons) Then mail the form to Voter Services (be sure to put a 37-cent stamp on it).

   If you really want to multiply your influence, you can volunteer to help in this year's campaign. Just call or write the Hempfield Area Democrats, c/o Martin Dees, Jr. 779 Eastside Drive, Landisville, PA 17538 (717-898-0543).