Millions of Americans Have Already Voted in the 2024 Election, and So Have I.

As of this writing over 66 million Americans have already voted in the 2024 presidential election, and I was one of them. If you haven’t voted yet you have until the polls close on November 5, 2024. I can’t say it any better than that renowned statesman and gifted orator Donald J. Trump who is imploring his supporters to “Get your fat ass out of the couch” and vote.

For me the decision on whom to vote for is clear. It is a decision between a candidate who attempted to overthrow the results of a free and fair election, the bedrock of our democracy, and one who didn’t.

Rather than to rehash it all, I thought it would be interesting to revisit two of my blogs from the 2020 election cycle and present a few of their highlights. 

Vote 2020

Here it is in the middle of July, and it is ramping up be the summer of our collective discontent. We are in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, the economy is in a shambles, protests against police injustice occur nightly, civil war era monuments are being toppled, and dozens of our citizens were killed by firearms over the 4th of July weekend. The citizenry of this country should be discontented, if not downright outraged. Contentment leads to complacency, and this is not a time to be complacent.

Black Lives Matter was considered by some to be a fringe radical group when it started in 2013. Today it is an international movement with support from people of all races. It is an example of a group of people getting together in common cause and raising awareness of racial injustice right here in the United States. I think that their cause is catching fire and will finally lead to some positive changes. But what about the rest of us? How can we make a difference? The answer my friends is at the ballet box!  The presidential general election will be held on November 3, 2020, and several state primaries are being held in the months leading up to November.

Voting is a fundamental right of every U.S. citizen 18 years of age and older. The free exercise of this right is one of the most effective ways to let your voice be heard and to affect change. There are laws that make voting mandatory in approximately 22 countries, but not here in the United States. No one can force you to vote. But if citizens are complacent and don’t vote, how will change be affected? If you are not motivated to vote, I have listed a few things that you may want to consider.
 
Reasons to Vote:

• Preservation of Democracy: Apathy and indifference play into the hands of despotic leaders, and weakens democracy. The fewer people who vote, the more power accrues to the few at the top.  Voting is the most effective tool that citizens of a free society have to prevent injustice, tyranny, and despotism. When the right to vote is denied or restricted, then all power is ceded to the state. Look at China, which has a one-party system. Xi Jinping is the President of the people’s Republic of China and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China. In 2018 the Chinese constitution was amended, removing term limits for the president. Xi is now an autocrat, and what he says goes. Is there any wonder that the Chinese government recently imposed new security laws on Hong Kong, minimizing the island’s autonomy and restricting the rights of its citizens? Another example of a country where free and fair elections are questionable at best, is Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Putin recently pushed through constitutional amendments which virtually guarantee his presidency for life. Autocracies are never good for the rights of the citizens.
• Local Elections Matter: What happens at the city, county, and state levels of government has a real impact on your family, community and your wallet. Local elections choose school boards, city councils, mayors, county supervisors, judges, sheriffs, DAs, state legislators, governors, and others. I would venture a guess that most of us pay more in state and local taxes (and fees) than we do in federal taxes. At the federal level, you may pay income and payroll taxes, excise taxes on some fuels and alcohol, as well as fees on some utility bills. But at the local level, you pay sales taxes, gasoline taxes, transient occupancy taxes, vehicle taxes, tolls, property taxes, interest from bond measures, utility fees, income taxes, etc. Most of these are determined through ballet initiatives, or by elected officials. Perhaps even more important than how much is collected, is how the money is apportioned. How tax money is spent in your community on such things as schools, roads, public health, public safety, parks, green spaces and other community services, has a big impact on your quality of life.
• Down Ballet Candidates Matter: Even if none of the presidential candidates are to your liking, there is more to November’s election than the presidency. The control of Congress is up for grabs, and the stakes are high. Congress is a critical check on presidential power, it will determine which federal judges are appointed and the legislation that makes it to the president’s desk.   
• Be a Part of History: Today, many of us take our right to vote for granted. But those who came before us fought long and hard to win those rights that we enjoy today. 2020 is the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, giving women the right to vote. The least we can do to recognize this major achievement for women, is to vote. Vote to commemorate the achievement of all the brave women, and other marginalized people, who fought so that we wouldn’t have to.                

 
Voting During the Pandemic: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted just about every aspect of our lives. To top it off we are faced with a national election. How do we do it safely during a time of self-quarantines, social distancing, and enhanced sanitation procedures? We don’t know if the virus will still be with us in November. But we can’t sit idle and wait to find out. We do have some experience with voting during this pandemic, and it wasn’t pretty! During this primary season we have all read and seen news reports of people waiting in long lines, under extreme conditions, to vote. Voters in Wisconsin stood in lines for hours in the frigid cold, to exercise their right to vote this past April. More recently the good people of Georgia endured long waits, in scorching heat, to vote in their primary. Why did this happen? Election officials blame it mostly on the pandemic.
​Many of the poll workers are volunteers, who were frankly too frightened to work the polls. Those who did work were provided too little, or inadequate training, due to distancing and sanitation rules. Fewer poll workers lead to consolidation of polling places, compounding an already bad situation. Is this what we can expect in the November election? I hope not, and it doesn’t have to be. (Thank God the pandemic is over!)
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Is the 2020 Presidential Election Finally Over?

​The 2020 presidential election is finally over. The Electoral College met on December 14th in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and cast their electoral votes. The Electoral College has spoken, and the winner of the 2020 presidential election is (drum roll please), Joe Biden! It was a very contentious election, and President Trump and his allies have tried every legal maneuver possible to have the election results overturned. But the numbers don’t lie. Here is the election scorecard, which even the most hardened partisan cannot overlook:

2020 Presidential Election Score Card

          Votes/Challenges                                             Trump                                       Biden

Popular Vote                                                      74,223,753 (46.9%)                 81,283,495 (51.4%)

Recounts in Wisconsin and Georgia                                                                              *

Lower Courts Lawsuits (50+)                                                                                              *   

Supreme Court Rulings (2)                                                                                                  * 

Electoral College Votes                                                    232                                           306

Victor                                                                                                                                              * 

Even before all the votes from the November 3rd election were tallied, the President’s campaign, and members of the Republican Party, began filing over 50 lawsuits in various jurisdictions. The lawsuits contested the election outcome due to outright fraud or voting irregularities. Some of these lawsuits are still pending, but the majority were thrown out or decided in Joe Biden’s favor due to lack of evidence. The Supreme Court challenge, filed by the Texan Attorney General, was denied due to lack of standing (he didn’t have the legal right to sue other states over their election laws). The Supreme Court challenge against the state of Pennsylvania, for liberalizing absentee voting, was denied due to lack of merit. Much to the chagrin of President Trump, the separation of powers is still working. The partial recount in Wisconsin and the full hand recount in Georgia, both went in Joe Biden’s favor.
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On the floor of the Senate today, Leader Mitch McConnel acknowledged Joe Biden’s victory in the Electoral College. He went on to congratulate President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris on their victory.  On January 6, 2021, Congress will meet in joint session to count the electoral votes and declare the winner of the presidential election. For the sake of the country, let’s hope that Donald Trump and his millions of admirers accept the outcome of the election so that we can work together on the challenges ahead. (Guess how that turned out!) 

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Thanks,
Armchair American