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Commentary — Thanks to all who have voted and are waiting for democracy to do its work

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With higher numbers of absentee ballots this year, it’s going to take more time to count all the votes. Final election results will not come tonight – but that’s OK. Counting every vote is more important than speedy election results. Our democracy is worth waiting for. Image courtesy of the League of Women Voters of the U.S. Click on this image for more information.

Hello all,

Thank you all very much for participating in our democracy by casting your ballot during the Nov. 3, 2020, general election.

No matter who you have voted for, you have set national records in participation this year — all during a time of one of the worst pandemics in our nation’s history.

Now, the hard part begins. Patience.

As we write this, various news agencies are reporting that former Vice President Joe Biden has won Pennsylvania to put him over the 270 electoral votes needed to become the 46th U.S. President.

Those news services include:

However, thousands of ballots remain to be counted in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. We owe it to election workers to complete their jobs and count every single ballot. This may take days, maybe weeks for the process to work itself out, but if you were patient enough to register to vote, fill out a ballot or stand in line at the polling place, then waiting a little longer shouldn’t be too hard.

Relax, breathe deep, spend some quality time with your family or socially distance time with your friends. The results will be known soon.

We need to bring this country together and we are confident that each and every one of you are up to the challenge.

Veterans Day will be next Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020. The day was chosen as a remembrance of veterans who have served this nation, including those American soldiers who had to wait until the 11th day of November and the 11th hour of 1918 before they could put down their weapons and celebrate the Armistice that ended World War I. They fought for America’s and the world’s democracy and they rightly deserved to be honored.

I’m sure patience was in short supply that day, but they carried on, did their duty and earned the respect of Americans throughout the nation.

So, is it too much to ask for us to honor their memory, have patience, honor their sacrifice and do our duty to make sure our democracy completes its job during this election season.