CLAY COUNTY – Election Day may have come and gone, but citizens are still unsure of the process.

It’s hard to go anywhere without hearing about the election. That’s because it took several days before the election was called in challenger Joe Biden’s favor.

The race was extremely close in battleground states like Pennsylvania, Nevada and Georgia leading to calls for recounts, lawsuits and protests. It’s basically what many predicted during this presidential election.

We asked Clay Today readers what they thought of everything and they are just as divided as the rest of the country.

“Only votes by living, breathing CITIZENS should be counted,” Jeff Simoneaux said. “Absentee and mail-in votes should arrive by same closing time as actual voting booths. Those votes should be verified by signatures on file, then counted.”

Simoneaux is of the more right-leaning belief that ballots that arrive after election day should not be counted, even if postmarked before Nov. 3. There are Clay Today readers who disagree and believe that every legally cast vote should be counted, no matter when they come in. Teresa Sanday said all votes cast, within respective state laws, should be counted as in years past.

“The influx of votes should have the expectation of more time to count,” she said. “That does not make them fraudulent. The display, of yelling to deny votes by other Americans, is disgusting and more unpatriotic than kneeling during the national anthem.”

Other readers said they believe widespread voter fraud happened during the election – something President Donald Trump has been saying. Pamela Vann said she feels sad and that she voted in person to ensure their vote was counted. She also said she’s sad fraud is so rampant and she has to fight for her voice to be heard. She finished by saying elected officials in American have forgotten what America is all about.

Sanday countered Vann’s statements and said she put two stamps on her mail-in ballot to ensure it made it to the right place. She then asked if that makes her vote fraudulent. She also asked if the votes of her three military children that voted by mail are less valid than Vann’s own in-person vote.

Donna Heise said voter fraud is being exposed while Jennifer Grell said she’s sad and angry. Clay Today reader Justin Cran made a non-partisan comment that expresses what many people feel.

“Just hurry up and tell me who my step-daddy is,” he said. “We have work to do.”

Many echoed was Cran said.

Now the challenge is to bring the nation together as it transforms into another administration.

What do you think of this election process? Has it been stressful? Are you upset? Are you happy? Let us know by answering the Clay Today Facebook Question of the Week on the Clay Today Newspaper Facebook page.