2 Responses to “”

1. Elizabeth
   July 2nd, 2013 @ 4:41 pm

   Today I received this email from the WHITE HOUSE responding to my signing the Petition to Congress:

   (This is material for a waste basket.)
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   The Choice We Made Together – and Another You Have Now

   We understand that you might have been disappointed by the outcome of the 2012 election. But this election was decided fairly and democratically, and there’s absolutely no evidence to suggest otherwise.

   Let’s look at the one argument you present in this petition.

   You say that one county in Ohio has 98,213 eligible voters—we guess because that’s the number of people of voting age living in Wood County according to the 2010 Census. But according to the Ohio Secretary of State, Wood County actually had 108,014 registered voters at the time of the 2012 election. And of those registered voters, only 64,342 cast a ballot in November—not 106,258. Of the votes cast, President Obama won 50.98 percent, which is a great deal less than 108 percent. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney won 46.17 percent of the vote.

   In fact there isn’t a county in Ohio that came anywhere close to reporting more total votes than it had registered voters. Across the state, the county-by-county percentage of voter turnout based on registration ranged from 53 percent to 79 percent. The statewide average was 71 percent.

   Those aren’t numbers we got out of thin air—again, they’re straight from the official election results released by Ohio’s Secretary of State.

   In a nationwide election in which more than 125 million Americans cast ballots, there are always going to be irregularities and complaints. It’s unacceptable that citizens in many states had to wait in lines that lasted hours before they could vote, for instance, and the President made this clear in his Inaugural Address. And that’s why the lead lawyers from both the Obama and Romney campaigns have teamed up with other experts to launch the Presidential Commission on Election Administration, a bipartisan commission tasked to make voting work for voters. You can learn more about that at SupportTheVoter.gov.

   But this past fall, Americans chose to re-elect President Obama—together. So now, you have another choice. Will you work with your fellow citizens to help tackle the challenges that we can all agree our country faces?

   You don’t have to support President Obama or his vision for this country. But you have to acknowledge that all Americans, even those with whom you disagree, have the right to help to set our nation’s course.

   That’s a truth that unites us all as citizens, and it sets up a basic agreement—one that makes us an example for other nations, which justifies our democratic experiment: the understanding that the elections we lose are still legitimate.

   We’re a country full of those who hold passionate beliefs. We often fail to see eye to eye, and just as often, the debates those disagreements spark help to lead us forward—to solutions that make America stronger.

   That’s why President Obama has repeatedly asked that all Americans get involved with their democracy. And it’s why the White House has created new tools and channels to help us better explain our ideas, and more importantly, to help President Obama hear directly from you. Thanks for your participation—keep it up if you have more feedback.

   Tell us what you think about this response and We the People.

   Stay Connected

   Stay connected to the White House by signing up for periodic email updates from President Obama and other senior administration officials.

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