Recount Takes Weeks
“Are you going to watch the election?” Maria asked. She was cleaning up the evening dishes. “I want to see who won before I go to work.”
“Is that tonight?” The television was playing some telenovela that Maria liked to watch. Juan had been scrolling on his cell phone, ignoring it.
“Ay guau!” Maria’s expression of surprise was meant to tease. “All this talk about your first election and you don’t even know what day it is?”
Juan laughed and aimed the remote at the TV, changing the channel to Univision.
It was fascinating to watch… for a while. The Univision studio had been transformed into an “Election Headquarters” complete with large screens and maps displaying the incoming election results. The anchors talked incessantly about exit polls and early results, but as the hours passed, they could only conclude that the race was still too close to call.
“I’ve got to go.” Maria placed some leftovers in her lunchpail. “If they get done before you go to bed, text me and let me know who won, OK?”
Juan promised, kissed her, and walked her to the door. Before returning to his chair, he went to the refrigerator and got a Coors Light.
Juan was intrigued by the expert analysis offered by pollsters and representatives from both parties. As the night wore on, they started calling the states in the Eastern time zone. Indiana and Kentucky both came in for Trump, followed by Vermont with a resounding win for Biden.
A little while later, an extremely tight race in Virginia was called for Trump. The anchors were going wild speculating on the significance of that development.
Juan looked at his watch, it was still reasonably early in the evening in Arizona. But the polls were scheduled to close in a couple of hours. It was a special night, so he thought he’d treat himself to another beer before heading to bed. I’ll find out who won tomorrow.
They announced that South Carolina was being called for Trump when breaking news interrupted the broadcast.
“Good evening. I’m Maria Rodriguez, and Univision is bringing you a developing story from Arizona where the 2024 presidential election is taking an unexpected turn.”
What’s this? Juan thought. Arizona’s in the news?
The broadcaster continued, “In a nail-biting race reminiscent of 2020, the margins are so close that they will trigger an automatic recount according to Arizona’s newly adjusted rules, set at a threshold of 0.5%.”
“Madre de Dios!” Juan shouted at the TV. “Not again!”
A back-and-forth exchange between “experts” was so convoluted that Juan could barely follow it.
“If challenges to the election persist,” one man opined, “then a recount must officially commence on November 15.”
An anchor added context, “What was initially anticipated to be a thorough and timely election might be evolving into a potential nightmare scenario for Arizona.”
Maybe it was the extra beer, but Juan felt a little like he was at a ball game criticizing the umpire for a bad call, “Aw, c’mon! Why can’t you guys just add up the votes?”
“That’s right Isabel,” the first anchor was the picture of calm poise. “Due to the meticulous nature of the recount and the significant number of ballots, the process is likely to extend beyond the expected deadline for sending presidential electors to Washington, DC, which is typically December 14.”
As if the people on TV could hear him, Juan said, “It shouldn’t take so long. You’re gonna make Arizona the laughingstock of the nation!”