Salvatore Salerno: Facts don’t lie, too many Americans didn’t bother to vote

A fact is something that is true, whether people choose to believe it or not. Here is one: 42 percent of eligible American voters did not vote on Nov. 7. My opinion is that perhaps this outcome would have been different if many of those voters had overcome their apathy or disdain for our democracy.

Here’s another fact: as of Friday, 67,551,674 citizens voted for Hillary Clinton or another candidate other than Donald Trump. Also, 60,526,852 citizens voted for the man who obtained the White House by dint of the Electoral College. If math is correct, that person received approximately 47 percent of the total voting population who exercised that right. Facts don’t lie like people do. My opinion is that perhaps we should cherish our most important fact: all 322,761,809 American lives matter.

This story was originally published November 21, 2016 at 6:02 PM with the headline "Salvatore Salerno: Facts don’t lie, too many Americans didn’t bother to vote."