Feeling that there had been irregularities aplenty in the whole voting process, Fagan contested the judge's ruling and even filed a civil rights suit in federal court, charging that the Virginia law on defaced ballots is vague and unconstitutional and cost him the election. A federal judge eventually dismissed the case. Tom Bricken of Stafford, Reed's attorney in the dispute and the recount, called Thursday to say that several people have remarked to him this week about how Fagan and Reed's situation underscored the importance of each and every vote. Sometimes, people tend to forget that in this national election, thinking their vote doesn't really mean much, said Bricken. People in Florida are seeing what people in Stafford learned awhile back.
Every single vote does count.
As if they needed to be reminded of that, Falmouth voters saw another race go to a recount in 1997 when challenger David Beiler beat incumbent Supervisor Lyle Ray Smith by 14 votes in the regular election and then 12 after a recount overseen by a three-judge panel. In races like that, when only a few thousand votes will be cast, it's easier to see cliffhangers that close. But in Florida's case, with millions of people voting, it boggles the mind to think that one Florida district could end up deciding the whole election. Of course, we were focusing only on Florida because it has taken so long to get final results there. The truth that we forget is that every vote cast everywhere across the country will put together every eventual victory.