One vote makes a difference

I attended the Aurora Township Democratic Party caucus last night at the request of two friends who needed my vote. Things were pretty crowded at the grass roots as four candidates vied to be slated as Democratic candidate for township supervisor. Also pretty chaotic. If you didn't know when to say yea or nay, too bad. The chairman wielded the gavel rather heavily and quickly. You voted on slips of paper by coloring in the box -- no chance of a hanging chad or electronic voting machine error. Well, almost no chance -- one vote was in dispute because of a question over the voter's eligibility. That in turn required a call to the election commission. What then turned out to be the margin of victory? One vote separated the second and third place finishers. It pays to bring a friend. Also a book. Democracy is time-consuming as well as chaotic at its roots.