Florida Recounts

Well Florida, you’ve done it again. It took about fifteen years for people to stop making “recount” jokes to me when they discover I’m from the Sunshine State, and now your inability to tabulate ballots has hit the reset button on all that. Because of Florida in the 2000 Presidential Election we learned what a chad is (the circular part of the ballot punched out when voting), as well as every way it can be improperly removed (dimpled, hanging, swinging, pregnant). The Gore Lieberman ticket, dubbed the “Sore Loserman” ticket, made headlines for their demands for more and more recounts. Images of election officials holding ballots up to the light, trying to determine if a vote cast for Pat Buchanan was intended to be a vote for Gore, dominated the headlines for weeks, as America waited to see who would ultimately become the forty-third President of the United States.

Now in 2018 it is Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum refusing to concede in the gubernatorial contest against Ron de Santis, and Congressman Bill Nelson doing the same in his bid for re-election against the current governor Rick Scott. Boxes of provisional ballots (which are normally fake ballots or those cast by people pretending to be someone else) are turning up in the trunk of rental cars, school cafeterias, and broom closets. Cries of “voter fraud” and “stolen elections” are heard on social media and the nightly news. Georgia has a similar problem as Stacey Abrams refused to concede to Brian Kemp in their struggle to become governor.

In all three races, the candidate who refused to concede eventually lost after the dust from the provisional ballots had settled. Determining voter intent, counting dimpled chads as a vote, and producing ballots out of thin air did not help the loser become a winner. Losing a close election is hard (I know!), and it is worth making sure everyone got it right, but the numbers don’t lie. After the polls have closed, it is too late.

The Bible tells us we each have an appointment with death, and then is the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Those who never put their trust in Jesus will hear the chilling words, “I never knew you; depart from me, you who practices lawlessness. (Matthew 7:23).” If that is you, you won’t like the verdict, but the polls will be closed. No demanding recounts, no refusal to concede will change the results of what has happened. A candidate who wants to be victorious on election day must do the work while there is still time, and anyone who wants a home in heaven must do what they need to do now while there is still time. If you have not done so, repent of your sins, put your faith in Jesus Christ, and begin a new life with Him today.