I bet many of you were surprised that in last week’s paper, I did not make the case for why you should vote for former Vice President Biden. I was planning to do so until my wife said that people are tired of hearing about Trump and they have made up their minds as for whom they are voting. I decided to listen to her. There is a second reason why it did not make sense to discuss who to vote for: because it is expected that Biden will win New York. Since we have the electoral college, vote totals do not matter. In the majority of states, if the candidate wins by one vote, they will receive all of the state’s electoral votes.
By the time this article is published, it is possible that we will know who the next president will be. It is predicted that Biden will win the popular vote. If he loses the electoral college, he would be the third candidate in the last six presidential elections to win the popular vote yet lose the election due to the electoral college. I think it may be time to reexamine that process, which is anti-Democratic. It should be based on the number of votes each candidate wins. It would be good for the country and for New York. This way, candidates would care about New York because they need each and every vote. It would be a national election and not 50 state elections.
I expect that if Biden loses, his supporters will argue that it was due to voter suppression, and if Trump loses, his supporters will claim that it was due to fraudulent mail-in ballots. There also will be litigation challenging ballots or allowing ballots. What is unknown and concerning is whether there will be a violent reaction by those on the far left and far right. Hopefully, if there is a contested election, the country will be able to move on without any violence, as it did after 2000. I credit Vice President Al Gore for his reaching across the aisle and acknowledging defeat and asking the country to accept George Bush as president. I am nervous about whether the loser, especially if it is Trump, will be so accommodating. He has repeatedly cast doubt on the validity of the mail-in ballots.
One thing that is not going away soon, no matter who becomes the next president, is COVID-19. Sorry Mr. President: The media will still be talking about it after November 3. Trump can try to fire Dr. Fauci to take revenge, but the virus will continue spreading. The country hit a new day high for cases of close to 100,000, which may be broken by the time this article is published. When there is an increase in cases, there is an increase in hospitalizations and deaths.
It is important for all of us, those who supported Biden and those who supported Trump, to use our energy to write about a topic that can make a difference. It would be a mistake to waste our time rehashing the election instead of speaking out about the importance of abiding by the CDC guidelines, including mask wearing, social distancing, and hand washing. Thus, I call on my follow columnists in this and other papers to write about the topic. Some of the writers who are big Trumpians have been following the guidelines, yet they are silent in their columns because of what I believe is their inability to publicly criticize the President. The election is over and it is time to do what we writers can do to help save lives.
It is not only the writers who have an obligation. Everyone has an obligation to follow the CDC guidelines, and when necessary, convince others to do so. The virus does not discriminate between Trump and Biden voters, Republicans and Democrats, virus deniers and acceptors. It is going to be a tough winter dealing with the virus and we need all hands on deck.
Warren S. Hecht is a local attorney. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.