Congratulations to Caren Ray, but are her democracy sentiments true?

I wanted to congratulate Caren Ray for being re-elected! I appreciated her sentiments in her letter, about the election proving democracy is alive and well (“Election proves democracy is alive and well in America,” Nov. 11).

But for a different perspective, I am reminded of a recent election, where the voters voted for a candidate of a major party, because they preferred the policies of that candidate. While their candidate received the most votes, the loser was declared the winner for the office, because of a predetermined, nondemocratic formula for apportioning votes from the states.

To the voters, it seemed like their votes had just disappeared. The lesson for many of the young people from that particular election was that some votes were more powerful than other votes. They did not have the powerful votes, and they no longer believed their democracy was alive and well. They had a sense of great discomfort and a fear for the future. They decided to protest and protest and protest.

Will all of their votes count in future elections? Or will the loser become the winner, every 16 years or so?

This story was originally published November 16, 2016 at 11:33 PM with the headline "Congratulations to Caren Ray, but are her democracy sentiments true?."