Today, we are supposed to know the official results of the Electoral College. During a joint session of the House of Representatives and Senate, the electoral votes from each state will be counted.
by Brent Maze
This is usually one step in the process that we normally don’t even notice, but this year it has become a big deal.
Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with the outcome of the election, this election has been a refresher civics lesson to relearn just how our country manages elections.
First point of my “book report” is elections are not run by the federal government. It’s actually handled by counties or parishes of each state. Those election commissioners along with the circuit clerk help maintain the voter rolls and assist with the registration of voters.
The Secretary of State in each state provides guidance for how the local officials manage the elections, but it really is up to your friends and neighbors with how the election runs in our county. The state really doesn’t do any of the counting per se. They just tabulate the overall results statewide that are reported from each county or parish.
So in that respect, the presidential election is actually made up of 3,143 local elections.
I have to say, Newton County’s election officials led by Circuit Clerk Mike Butler do an outstanding, professional job running a clean and fair election. Other places are not so lucky.
Another thing I’ve learned is most successful challenges come from votes that haven’t been counted. Once a vote is counted and included in the vote tally, it’s hard to take it out of the count, but it is easier to include votes that were not previously counted.
And those votes must be challenged at the local level. Poll watchers at each precinct must raise any objections before those votes are counted.
It’s very possible that fraud occurred in the election, but if you don’t speak up before the votes are counted, you’re fighting an uphill battle.
When voting, you must follow the rules exactly as they’re written. If you don’t sign your name exactly as it’s written on the roll, your vote could be disqualified. And when voting absentee, make sure you have all of your information correct with the appropriate signature(s) to ensure the vote is counted.
And don’t wait until the last minute. Get registered early and submit your absentee ballots as early as possible. Just because you can mail it on election day doesn’t mean your ballot will be received by the deadline.
Contact Brent at bmaze@-newtoncountyappeal.com.
