Utah Democrats, moderate Republicans and independents who favor Joe Biden over Donald Trump may be tempted not to vote in the presidential election. Why? They might assume that Trump will carry Utah by a large margin and easily win the state’s six electoral votes. They might reason that it’s a waste of time to vote, that their ballot would be inconsequential. Not so. This election, perhaps more than ever before, is likely to be influenced by the nationwide popular vote, not just the electoral college.
This election is shaping up to be what could be the most contentious in the nation’s history. The president, who is infamous for setting up scapegoats to blame whenever he thinks he might fail, has already proclaimed, without a shred of evidence, that the election is rigged if he doesn’t win. And the GOP is almost certain to file a lawsuit to contest the election if it doesn’t go their way.
Assuming Biden wins the electoral college vote, regardless of the margin, Trump will cry foul and illegitimately cling to power as long as he can. But if the voters trounce him in the popular vote with a margin of, say, 5 million votes (Obama beat Romney by more than 3 million), it would make a resounding statement that the American people don’t want him in office. It could also be an influencing factor in the courts.
But to achieve this goal, Biden supporters must turn out in record numbers in Utah as well as throughout the country. When adding up the popular vote, a Utahn’s vote counts just as much as one in Michigan, Pennsylvania or Florida. It’s a compelling reason for Biden supporters to cast their ballots, regardless of which state they live in.
Larry Alan Brown, South Jordan