Voting

This passage discusses voting and how important a person's vote can be in an election.

Lexile Level: 440L

Categories: History

In 1845, the Republic of Texas wanted to become part of the United States. The Senate had to vote on the issue. Some people didn't want to add Texas. They didn't want to add another southern state. The Senate voted. There was a tie. One senator decided to change his vote. He voted to add Texas. Texas became the 28th state of the United States. This wasn't the only time one vote made a big difference. In 1876, Rutherford Hayes ran for president. The results were very close. A special committee made the final decision. They said Hayes won 185 votes. His opponent won 184 votes. Hayes became the 19th president of the United States. In 2000, Governor George Bush ran against Vice President Al Gore. The election was very close. Some votes had to be counted twice. It was the closest election in history. Some people think their vote isn't important. History tells us every vote counts.