Is it my imagination, or does it seem like the whole nation is holding their breath until after Tuesday’s election? Does your vote really count? On Tuesday, November 6, 2012, our nation will vote into office the next President of the United States. It has been declared the most important election of our lifetime. According to the polls, the race is a dead heat with the numbers equal and the whole nation divided on values, direction, vision and likability. What perilous times to be divided. Are you voting between personalities? Are you voting about leadership styles, or, are you voting about values that will influence eternity?
Without a doubt, your vote will count. Consider the following facts I found:
In 1800 – Thomas Jefferson was elected President by one vote in the House of Representatives after a tie in the Electoral College.
In 1824 – Andrew Jackson won the presidential popular vote but lost by one vote in the House of Representatives to John Quincy Adams after an Electoral College dead-lock.
In 1845 – The U.S. Senate passed the convention annexing Texas by two votes (27/25).
In 1846 – President Polk’s request for a Declaration of War against Mexico passed by one vote.
In 1868 – President Andrew Johnson was Impeached but not convicted because the Senate was one vote shy of the necessary two thirds required.
In 1941 – Congress amended the active-service component of the Selective Service Act from one year to two-and-a-half years by one vote, 203 to 202.
In 1962 – Governors of Maine, Rhode Island and North Dakota were elected by an average of one vote per precinct.
In 1994 – 1.1 votes per precinct in Alaska elected Tony Knowles as Governor and Fran Ulmer as Lt. Governor out of 216,668 votes cast in the General Election.
In 2000 – The Presidential election was decided by an extremely narrow margin. George W. Bush won the state of Florida by just 537 votes, making him the next President of the United States. Close to 6 million voters went to the polls in Florida. It might not have been by one vote, but certainly every vote counted.
In 2008 – Minnesota voters cast 2.9 million votes in their US Senate race that may be decided by as few as 200 votes (1/1000th of one %).
Yes! Your vote and life make a difference. Speak up by using your right to vote and embrace your freedom. You may be the deciding factor how this election will be written in the history books.
When you choose to look past the horizon… the sky is the limit!