Close Election

October 13, 2000

Many say this presidential election will be as close as any election in the last fifty years. It might be worthwhile to remind ourselves of how close some of those elections were. The three closest elections were 1960, 1968, and 1976.

Of the three presidential elections, the election of 1960 between Richard Nixon and John Kennedy was the closest. John Kennedy essentially won by 40,829 votes. Now he won by more votes than that, but I am talking about the slim margin of victory in three states that elected John Kennedy.

Kennedy won the state of Illinois by 8,858 votes (which was essentially one vote per precinct). He won the state of Missouri by 9,880 votes (essentially three votes per precinct). And he won New Jersey by 22,091 votes (again by approximately three votes per precinct). The total vote margin of those three states was 40,829.

I don't know how close the election will be in November, but there is every reason to believe it could be the closest election yet. A slim margin of victory in a few states may be what gives one candidate the needed 270 electoral votes. It doesn't matter if you win Texas by a few million votes, you still get 32 electoral votes. And you could win Illinois by 1000 votes and still get all 22 electoral votes.

That is why I encourage every Christian to register to vote and consider carefully how he or she will cast that vote in November. And that is not the only race to consider. Voters will be able to determine the fate of 33 U.S. Senators, 435 U.S Representatives, and thousands of races for various state offices (governor, state senator, state representative). Most people believe many of these elections will be very close. Your vote might be one of a handful of votes that makes a difference.

I'm Kerby Anderson of Probe Ministries, and that's my opinion.