Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

On Tuesday, Americans went to the polls to cast their ballot for their pick in several races for public office.

A presidential race is considered a major race in America since we will elect the head of our country who will make some major decisions for our country.

I am afraid I have never seen such a division in our country as to what we believe.

I remember as a young person being disappointed when “my man” did not win an election, but I have never felt the feeling of doom I have felt if “my man” does not come out on top for this presidential race.

It seems the candidates are so far apart in their beliefs it is like they come from separate planets.

For some of the candidates, this past Election Day may have been their very first run for a major office, but for most on the roster, we had seen their names before on the ballot before.

I feel certain that no matter who you were for in this election, it will be great to see shows on TV without the political ads. I, for one, got infuriated at the media giving out what I called free ads by showing everything they could negatively for one candidate and everything positive for another. I don’t know about you, but I long for news reporters like Walter Conkrite who just reported the news without making it obvious who he was for.

For myself, as an election worker, I have to say I have never been involved in an election so different as Tuesday’s.

Since I did not work in the June election, I had never worked an election where the voters came in to vote with a mask on their face. I never saw workers with masks on. I never dreamed you could live anywhere in the county and vote at any of the places open for elections in our county. Who would have thought how important seven colored pieces of paper marked with a number one through seven would become so important?

I was also shocked that one or two people would be brave enough to enter without a mask. The workers were required to wear a mask, but if someone came in not wearing the mask, they would be allowed to vote.

I would have never dreamed that a polling place would ever be called a “super center.” As it turned out, I worked in a super center for the election where there were no precincts.

I thought to myself if I could just dial up heaven and talk to my mom, dad and brother who have gone on and tell them about my day. I could just hear them making me repeat myself.

No precincts. Everybody wore masks. You gave them a piece of colored paper and that told the area where you lived. They could vote for nearly a month before the election and anyone could just mail in a vote, and even after the polls closed people could still mail in a ballot if it was postmarked no later than midnight? A pandemic called COVID-19 is why things have changed this much, you say? You say you still do not know who won the election and it is the next day? You have to be pulling my leg.

It hit me that my brother has only been gone two and half years but it is like we are on another planet. My Daddy, who taught his children about respect for our country, would be so flabbergasted if he were here now. His daughter is feeling flabbergasted and is trying to remind herself that God is still in control.

I was asked by a coworker at the election if I would write about the election. At the time, I really did not think I would, but for some reason, I could not write about anything else.

Hopefully, we will know who the president is soon and our country will accept whomever it is and live with the answer.

I pray for our country to be Americans first with love in our heart for each other. I also pray for whomever wins this election because God knows our country needs prayer.

Sue Staton is a Clark County native. She is a wife, mother and grandmother.