So you think your vote doesn’t count?
You wonder what difference does it make if you do or don’t show up at the polls?
Well think again, and know that it makes a huge difference.
Ted Elder won the District 4 GOP County Commissioner’s seat through a never-done before tie-breaker by the Worcester County Republican Central Committee.
He won the nomination over Kathyrn Danko-Lord.
But not after the two candidates ended up with the same number of votes tallying 214 votes apiece.
The Central Committee said it sought advice from the State GOP who validated that “this has never happened before, there’s no precedent, there are no rules how to handle it.” They pretty much heard the same thing from the State Board of Elections.
So, the committee had to come up with a way to break this tie. The idea of a sealed, secret ballot with the envelopes opened and votes tallied by the two candidates themselves was a very good solution, fair to both candidates. And let’s face it, there wasn’t much else the Central Committee could do.
But this also brings up another point. Every election that involves Central Committees on the ballot, we often are asked “what do these people do?” and why is it so important?
Typically Central Committees across the state are called on to replace an elected official of their party should he or she fail to complete his or her term of office due to medical reasons, death or retirement.
But this one case in this one race here in Worcester County shows just how valued a single vote can be. Indeed, candidate Elder said that he knew of someone who was thinking about not going out to vote, but ended up casting a ballot for the eventual winner. Without that one vote, the results are different.
Central Committee, you performed a valuable service for the citizens of Worcester County. And we think you also set a precedent worth following should a tie ever happen again.
We know now, it’s not so impossible. We especially know, every single vote counts.
You wonder what difference does it make if you do or don’t show up at the polls?
Well think again, and know that it makes a huge difference.
Ted Elder won the District 4 GOP County Commissioner’s seat through a never-done before tie-breaker by the Worcester County Republican Central Committee.
He won the nomination over Kathyrn Danko-Lord.
But not after the two candidates ended up with the same number of votes tallying 214 votes apiece.
The Central Committee said it sought advice from the State GOP who validated that “this has never happened before, there’s no precedent, there are no rules how to handle it.” They pretty much heard the same thing from the State Board of Elections.
So, the committee had to come up with a way to break this tie. The idea of a sealed, secret ballot with the envelopes opened and votes tallied by the two candidates themselves was a very good solution, fair to both candidates. And let’s face it, there wasn’t much else the Central Committee could do.
But this also brings up another point. Every election that involves Central Committees on the ballot, we often are asked “what do these people do?” and why is it so important?
Typically Central Committees across the state are called on to replace an elected official of their party should he or she fail to complete his or her term of office due to medical reasons, death or retirement.
But this one case in this one race here in Worcester County shows just how valued a single vote can be. Indeed, candidate Elder said that he knew of someone who was thinking about not going out to vote, but ended up casting a ballot for the eventual winner. Without that one vote, the results are different.
Central Committee, you performed a valuable service for the citizens of Worcester County. And we think you also set a precedent worth following should a tie ever happen again.
We know now, it’s not so impossible. We especially know, every single vote counts.