Until The Last Vote Is Counted
Do you ever wonder just when things started spinning out of control? We are in the full throws of election season, and this is just part one; already we are wading knee deep in muck. I really did not expect this May election cycle to be pristine, but there was hope that we would not openly digress into shallow infighting. Most people already know who they are going to vote for and, truth be told, they have known for weeks, if not months. At this point in the game, there is little that is going to shift the course, unless there is some major revolution in the next few days or folks just do not show up at the polls. We are on week two of early voting, and the numbers are strong. Who knows? This could be much like last voting cycle and we could vote more in early voting than election day. Then again, there may be a bunch of people who just get a charge out of election day at the polls. Whatever makes you tick is just fine by me, as long as you vote.
Every election season I get asked to predict the outcome of the election by looking into my magic 8 ball, and this cycle is no different. I never, ever, publicly predict winners and losers because I don’t want even one voter to not go exercise their right to vote based on my predictions. If the general public had listened to predictions during the last presidential cycle, it is likely that outcome would have been much different, and sometimes I believe that news organizations try to skew the outcome with predictions that favor their chosen candidates.
Do I have candidates that I would prefer, ones that I think will better serve the public interest? Well, sure. But, I will have a professional relationship with whoever wins office and I will respect the voice of the people. Does that mean that any elected official gets a free pass from the scrutiny of the cheap seats? Nope. Scrutiny is part of the job for both the press and elected officials.
Until the last vote is counted, we really have no idea who will be sitting in the catbird seat and who will just be out of time. Speculate. Investigate. Celebrate. Vote. It is too easy to be distracted by life and all that comes your way everyday, but voting is important. It is likely the most important thing you will do on the day that you cast your ballot. Vote early. Vote Election Day. Just vote. Really, really, really, just vote.
