Every Vote Counts

By Jim Irvine

Yes is cliché, but it’s true. But how much of a difference does your effort to vote really make?

Consider Buckeye Firearms Association endorsee Paul Blevins. This year he was up for re-election of the Elyria city council, ward 4.

Paul was very outspoken and influential in preventing the city council from adopting a gun ban similar to what the City of Clyde adopted in 2004. On election night a few weeks ago, Paul lost by 13 votes (1140-1127). But wait, there were still 36 absentee votes, and 20 provisional ballots to cast.

So who won?

Click on the "Read More..." link below to find out...

Before we get to the details of Mr. Blevin's election, let me give you a few things to think about.

Do you know 15 people who would support such a good candidate in your town? Do you remind them to vote? Do you tell them about Buckeye Firearms Association-endorsed candidates?

I know most of you did not have one of our endorsed candidates on your ballot, but things will be different in next spring’s primary. In May, every Ohio resident will have several Buckeye Firearms endorsed candidates on their ballot. And now is the time to learn from our mistakes and build our network of friends.

Our preparation now will allow us to be effective in electing a broad slate of pro-self defense, pro-hunting, and pro-gun candidates to offices throughout state government next year.

Most elections turn on less than 10 votes per precinct. The simple fact is that many people go to the polls uninformed. Their lack of knowledge is your opportunity to talk to them about important issues. People value information, and by reading our web site (and others), you are in a position to help inform your friends and neighbors.

In the 2004 primary, Jean Schmidt was the winner on election night, but lost after all ballots were recounted. She lost to Tom Niehaus, who is now a State Senator.

In Washington state, last year’s gubernatorial election for Governor, the results were:

But after recounts, and court battles, the tables turned and Gregoire won by 129 votes of the 2.9 million cast.

Which brings is to Elyria City Councilman Paul Blevins. The Lorain County web site now shows Paul Blevins losing by a 1173-1153 margin - less than 1% of the votes cast. That is significant because it is almost assuredly less than the number of CHL holders that are registered to vote in his district.

It’s impossible to predict which races will be the real close ones before an election, and it’s too late after the election. We must all commit to working like our race is the close one.

If you are a CHL holder or hunter, and have not volunteered to get involved, please do so now.

If you did not receive our latest mailing with your Ohio reciprocity cards, we don’t know who you are. It’s up to you to let us know.

Talk to your friends. Talk to your gun store. Talk to your neighbors. Talk to your co-workers. We are 64,000 CHL holders. We are over 400,000 hunters. Together, we can decide many elections next year in Ohio. Please act now to help us coordinate our efforts.