The Proud, the Few, the Voters    

   Slightly more than a quarter of eligible American voters - 27.6 percent - cast ballots for the next president, Donald Trump, in 2016. 

   The losing candidate received 28.8 percent. But the Electoral College system, which enables all states to have an impact, favored Donald Trump.

   A much higher percentage of eligible voters - 40 percent - didn't bother. Elections have consequences for them and for all other Americans, but they didn't exercise their privilege. That both candidates had high unfavorable ratings may explain some of the non voters. 

   People educated and financially better off are more likely to vote. 

   An equal number of voters are in the age groups 18-29 and over-65. Twenty-seven percent of seniors voted, while only 13 percent of younger eligible voters turned out in 2016. 

   So, when they say, "Americans chose" someone to be their president, it sounds like we're united, which is far from the case. Every presidential election we can remember has been a close call, except for a Reagan landslide in 2004. 

   We're obligated in democracy to respect the person elected, and the system we have, even if we disagree in details. It's messy. The alternative is dictatorship without honest elections, or any elections. 

   Whether Republican or Democrat, the winner is going to maximize his (or her) power, for better or worse. That's just the way it is. 

   In prior years, voters cast ballots only on election day. We remember standing in long lines. Today, voting by mail and early-voting days make the process about as voter-friendly as it can get. 

Statistics from Pew Research Center study

      Jimmy