Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Newspapers ask people to vote in every election. This time we didn’t have to and it’s looking like a silver lining in a contemptuous aggressive ugly political era.
Election day has come and gone. The political ads are finished. No more campaign rallies or tour buses. Now we wait for all of the votes to be counted, and most likely counted again.
Now, we can take a deep breath or two before the next phase. We can relax a little and remember the “enemy” is our neighbors, coworkers, friends and family. We can remember and reflect on how America has achieved amazing accomplishments when we worked together. We saved the world twice. We walked on the moon.
Then we can go back to the election results. We hope we don’t have to wait too long for the looming potential lawsuits to be completed, appealed, appealed again, and finally determined by a judge appointed by the “opposite” party.
Social media will remain toxic. Twits and Facebook activists will carry on making life miserable for people wanting humorous cat videos, cute selfies, and updates on all of our daily minutia.
Some of us will continue to pray and hope our distant cousins (not a COVID joke) the national media will regain a sense of ethics, improve their news judgment, and return to balanced reporting, so we can decide for ourselves.
Beyond the “Us versus Them” era of polarized, uncompromising, hyperbolic, partisan politics, we can enjoy the silver lining.
People are voting.
An average voter turnout in Washington state is 43.5% based on the last 10 years, which climbs to 59% for the last 10 presidential elections.
Three days before the election, 67.6% of Washington state voters were done. Their ballots were acknowledged as received by the state. And, they were still pouring in for three more days at drop boxes and delivery by the US Postal Service.
Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman said she expects a 90% turnout this time.
The record number of Washington voters casting ballots was 84% in the 2008 presidential election of Barack Obama.
In 2016, during the presidential election of Donald Trump, 78.7% of registered voters cast ballots.
The real victory is more people voting. More people taking time to help guide our democratic republic, to elect our representatives. We hope it means more people keeping track of how they do and vote appropriately during the next election.
A lot of people died for our country over the years to keep this right and responsibility in our hands. This silver lining could mean more people involved in guiding us - our country - to achieve more amazing accomplishments in the future.
Bill Stevenson
Whitman County Gazette Editor
Bill Stevenson is the former editor of the Whitman County Gazette, Colfax Daily Bulletin and Franklin Connection. He has nearly 30 years of journalism experience covering news in Eastern Washington.
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