Think voting is worthless? Think again

Tight race triggers automatic recount for Yuma council seat

For those who think voting doesn’t matter, please direct your attention to the Yuma City Council election.

There were three seats open on the city council, and voters had six candidates from which to choose on Nov. 7.

It appears that Gary Knight and Leslie McClendon both have secured seats on the council. However, only five votes separate Karen Watts and Gregory Counts, which triggers an automatic recount for that seat.

Five votes. That’s all that separates the two candidates, a remarkably slim margin.

I spoke to City Administrator Greg Wilkinson on Thursday, and the recount process, as required by state statute, is rather complicated.

This week, the city council will canvass the vote and declare seats for Knight and McClendon. Then, the council has to file a complaint in Superior Court to launch the recount. Once that recount is finished, the results will go back to the judge, and then to the city clerk’s office, who will announce the winner.

Such a process must be followed, according to state statute, any time there is a margin of 10 or less votes separating two candidates.

And fun side note? To Wilkinson’s knowledge, neither the city nor the county has had to do this before under this statute.

That means Yuma residents won’t have an answer on that third seat until somewhere in the neighborhood of Nov. 17, possibly later.

I hear from people all the time who question the value of one vote. And yet in this race, it’s literally too close to call, and now it’s headed to the courts for a recount.

That’s frustrating, especially when one considers how low the voter turnout is, how many early ballots go out and how few are returned, and how many eligible voters there are in Yuma.

There are a variety of reasons why people don’t vote, and frankly, there is a multitude of ways to improve the voting process itself.

But races such as this one prove the point that every vote matters.