Razor-Thin Margins and the Relevance of Voting

Psalm 33:12 says this:
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.  To me, this says that if we place ourselves as a people in alighnment with God, then He will bless our nation.  If we do not, I believe that we can expect a removal of blessings from the Lord.   I believe we have been blessed as a people because we have upheld His principles.   But we depart from those Biblical values, we cannot expect Him to deal with us in the same way - I see that throughout the Old Testament; God deals with nations - and I think that general premise holds true today.   We cannot expect the blessings of God if we do not exalt Him or abide by His principles.   And, that applies to our selection of leaders - it's important that we choose candidates that reflect our Christian values.  Deuteronomy 30 reminds us that we have choices to make and criteria by which we make them.   As we face Election Day, the principles are found in this passage. 19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 20 that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.


The polls are all over the map regarding the outcome of tomorrow's Presidential election.   The predictions of pundits vary, sometimes based on party or political philosophy, but not necessarily.   I think that the close polling data reminds us that each vote is to be taken seriously and regarded as significant.   And, even though in Alabama the outcome of the Presidential race might be decided, there are other races and amendments on the ballot, and I think that taking that step to vote is an act of obedience, and worship, and is a positive practice that we all can take.   Prayer is so important, too.

Close elections are nothing new in America.  Consider the 1800 election.   According to The Week,
Federalist incumbent John Adams was beaten by two Republican candidates, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. But those two tied for the number of Electoral College votes, so it fell to Congress to decide whether the president should be Jefferson or Burr. With each of the 16 state delegations getting a single vote, Jefferson could not win a majority of states in 35 ballots cast over the course of an entire week. Finally, in the 36th round, a lone Federalist from Delaware, James Bayard, changed his vote, assuring Jefferson's victory.

In 1824, Andrew Jackson won a plurality of popular and Electoral College votes, but was denied the presidency for failing to win a majority in the college. Under the 12th Amendment, the decision then fell to the House of Representatives, which elected runner-up John Quincy Adams at the direction of Henry Clay, the speaker of the House.

There was the election of 1876, when Samuel J. Tilden, a Democrat from New York, easily won the popular vote over Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes.  But charges of ballot-stuffing and bribery in three Southern states — Louisiana, Florida, and South Carolina — made it impossible to arrive at a definitive Electoral College result.  Congress established an electoral commission in January 1877, which eventually ruled Hayes the winner of Florida, putting him over the top.

And, speaking of Florida, who can forget the election of 2000, when that state was the center of attention due to a very close vote count - the U.S. Supreme Court eventually stepped in and George W. Bush became the 43rd President of the United States.

Will it be this close this time?   Who knows - but each vote has significance, I know that.   We have been gifted by God with a duty and responsibility to be salt and light and to make our voices heard - we are appointed, I believe, to be people of influence, and by casting a vote, we exercise a powerful activity.