In elections, numbers don’t lie

by J Scott Christianson, Columbia Daily Tribune Columnist

Last Tuesday’s election was all about the numbers for my fellow political junkies and me. Votes, dollars and percentages. I think I wore out my Web browser’s refresh button checking the races.

I was surprised to see the television networks call some of the East Coast races entirely on the exit poll data — before any votes had been counted. Can you imagine what it was like to be a loser in those races? You walk into your election night party and are quickly pulled aside by an aide who informs you of your loss. You inquire, “How many votes does my opponent have?” Zero. You just lost to a guy who is in the lead with zero votes. That’s harsh.

The best line of the night was from Pat Lensmeyer. “I hope I get at least a hundred votes. I mean, really, who is going to go all the way through the ballot just to cast a vote for an unopposed tax collector?” By the end of the night, more than 45,000 people went through the effort to show Lensmeyer the confidence they have in her work.

In some races it is clear that a money advantage means a vote advantage. The numbers are still not all in, but it looks like more than $460,000 was spent in the Ed Robb vs. Jim Ritter race. From what I can tell, Robb spent about $290,000, and Ritter spent $170,000. That works out to $19 per Ritter vote and $32 per Robb vote. A candidate who touts his economist credentials should be able to get a better return on investment.