Here in Minnesota Hillary took our ten electoral votes. While travelling west and way up North we saw many Trump/Pence signs but only one Hillary sign. She won votes in Duluth and The Cities the rest of the State went with Trump.
Our two oldest grandgirls voted in their first Presidential Election.
I was discouraged to see that our country is so angry. Someone had to win and someone had to lose. Perhaps time is needed to heal all wounds.
I like statistics. I found some interesting ones. Only 55% of all eligible Americans voted. Minnesota had a a 68% turn out bested only by 68.7% in New Hampshire and 68.1% by our Wisconsin neighbors. Hawaii had only 36.9% and California 43.5%.
Why do people choose not to vote? Too busy, not interested, illness, out of town or they forgot seem to be the top reasons.
I wonder who would have won if all the eligible people in America would have voted?
Seems to me that we lay the blame on those who voted instead of those who didn’t vote at all.
I'm proud of my Minnesota and of my daughters who are involved in getting people there out to vote. Only 55% of those eligible to vote is a pretty sad thing. I have never missed an election and wonder why so many seem to consider it a chore rather than an honor and a pretty precious right. I also wonder if the outcome would have been different if minorities were better represented in those statistics. Water under the bridge now.
ReplyDeleteI am just glad this election is over and we all can get on with our lives. Hopefully we can all come together and put our hatred for each other and our bitterness towards each other aside and work to change what we don't like about this great Country of ours. Let's stop the fighting and bickering and work together. I feel it is an honor and my duty to vote and I did. And I have always accepted whomever was elected. If you didn't vote you shouldn't complain about the results. God Bless America!!
ReplyDeleteI voted and my candidate lost the electoral college but won the popular vote. I am still hoping I'll live long enough to see the first woman president elected. But I'm older than you, Connie, and I may not. :-(
ReplyDeleteYou are so very right!
ReplyDeleteLinda
I would not encourage anyone to vote who hasn't studied the issues.
ReplyDeleteThere are always people who don't vote - they don't realize how important it is! I was hoping to see a woman President, but I guess the USA isn't ready for one yet...
ReplyDeleteI would have thought that of any election, this one would have had a high voter turnout. The 55% is pretty shocking.
ReplyDeleteI am very sad to see that so many people did not vote. I think the people feel like their vote doesn't count. That is sad! We have to try to heal the divide and make all people feel like they are being heard. Kansas only had a 52% turnout. I almost stayed home. Why? Because there was so much talk about long lines and I don't like to wait in line. That is why I like to vote early. This year I didn't ask for an absentee ballot. It was my grandson's first election to participate in and I wanted him to experience going to the polls. We got there and there wasn't a single person in line. I wonder how much noise the media makes about EVERYTHING keeps people away from the polls.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you. More blame should go to those who don't vote. In some cases they are the chief complainers.
ReplyDeleteThat is surprising. I would have thought that just about everybody voted. I voted and all my family voted.
ReplyDeleteHillary won Olmsted County, too. (Rochester)
ReplyDeleteI know some married folks don't vote because they are polar opposites and they know their votes will cancel each other's. I can't help but wonder if media access to exit polling affects voter turnout, too. Because of the time zones acrosss the US, we can start to see results from one time zone before polls are closed in another time zone, maybe folks are either convinced to stay home because their candidadte is ahead or convinvpced to get out because their candidate is behind.
As for wondering what would happen if everyone voted who was elligible to do so...well the extra popular votes don't always affect the electoral vote. To get electoral votes in any given state, one candidate needs to have a majority of vote in that state. Any votes beyond the majority does not affect the electoral votes from that state. And having the majority of total popular votes doesn't guarantee the electoral win...as we see in our results this week. That means Hillary's extra votes were in states where she had already won the electoral votes. There is still something to watch for in the electoral vote count and that is the Faithless Electors. If nine electoral college voters jumped the Trump ship, that would put him at 269 votes at exactly half and under the required majority. In that case, the election would go to the House of Representatitives, where each state would get one collective vote, not one vote per representative. The House is Republican at this time, so Trump would still win. Numbers and stats and votes, oh my!
If you could vote and did not, you are not being a good Citizen--
ReplyDeleteI have always told my children ,You must be a good Citizen.
By the time the primary got to my state (Pennsylvania) the two candidates running for office had been decided - so I had absolutely no say whatsoever in our so-called "democracy". Then the choice seem to come down to steaming poop versus stinking manure... If I had voted, the dead Gorilla in Cincinnati's zoo was the most attractive option I saw...
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point!
ReplyDeleteWe vote by mail, and I voted, after studying the many ballot issues, several weeks before election day. I know there were lot of people who didn't take time to study and found the ballot daunting. Also some did not like the two presidential choices, so they didn't vote for anything else either. Datas show many Democrats and minorities did not vote. There votes may have changed the outcome.
ReplyDeleteWe really do need to be concerned about voter suppression. Making it harder for folks to vote who really want to is not the American way.
Like DJan said, my candidate lost, and I have been going through grief and anger, working to acceptance. But I am deeply sad that I could not celebrate our first Madame President.
I couldn't agree with you more about those who do not vote....like you, I voted for the person I felt could lead our nation forward.
ReplyDeleteThousands of young people did not vote, we are now learning. I guess it takes maturity to acknowledge that each vote counts. Yet these people are now marching, afraid of the repercussions. Many say they have learned their lesson, and will vote from now on.
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