PIKE COUNTY, Mo. — This year’s presidential election reminds us that every vote counts.

The same was true in 1876, when a man born in Pike County Missouri helped make the difference.

Bowling Green native Dr. John William Watts was one of three Oregon men to serve in the electoral college that year. All initially voted for Republican Rutherford B. Hayes.

Supporters of Democrat Samuel Tilden challenged whether Watts was constitutionally eligible to be an elector. The debate led to all kinds of verbal assaults.

Outgoing President Ulysses S. Grant appointed a commission to resolve the issue. Less than two weeks before the inauguration, the panel declared Watts eligible. Hayes also picked up disputed electoral votes from South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana to put him over the top.

The devoutly-religious Watts later was elected an Oregon state legislator and also served as a federal land office registrar. He died at age 70 in 1901.

One Oregon newspaper said Watts would “go down in history as the man who, with one vote, elected a President of the United States.”