For want of a vote
What a difference a vote can make.
Early returns from the June 3 election showed that a sales tax
increase intended to support San Juan Bautista’s municipal
government passed by seven votes. It turns out the victory dance
was a bit premature. A final count
– officially called a canvass – shows that the measure actually
lost, and by a single vote, 212 to 211.
For want of a vote
What a difference a vote can make.
Early returns from the June 3 election showed that a sales tax increase intended to support San Juan Bautista’s municipal government passed by seven votes. It turns out the victory dance was a bit premature. A final count – officially called a canvass – shows that the measure actually lost, and by a single vote, 212 to 211.
How does that happen?
The vote counts that appear hours after the polls close are preliminary, and usually do not include provisional ballots. Provisionals are those ballots that do not conform to the usual practice. Many are absentee ballots dropped off at the polls rather than mailed back before the election. With more provisionals than expected, the vote swung in the other direction.
It’s not the first time that a few votes influenced outcomes. Although he easily won last week, county Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz sidestepped his way into office almost four years ago in an election marked by charges of impropriety. A generation ago, a Gavilan College trustee’s seat was declared the property of one candidate, then another and finally, officially awarded to the first victor.
It’s difficult to think that any individual matters when votes are counted in the millions.
When they’re counted in the hundreds, as they always are in San Juan, every voter has the chance to change history.
That’s what makes last week’s voter turnout all the more troubling. While San Benito County’s 35.1 percent turnout handsomely bested the state’s 25.8 percent, it’s shocking that more people were not present at the polls.
It’s a sad truth that whether we vote or not, a democracy guarantees that we’ll get the leadership we deserve.
