Charles Darwin gets 4,000 write-in votes in Georgia

By David Beasley | Reuters 9 hrs ago

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ATLANTA (Reuters) - A Georgia congressman who attacked the theory of evolution found himself with an unlikely opponent in Tuesday's U.S. election, when 4,000 voters in one county cast write-in ballots for the 19th century father of evolution, British naturalist Charles Darwin.

In a September 27 speech, Paul Broun, a physician and member of the U.S. House of Representatives Science, Space and Technology Committee, called evolution and the Big Bang Theory, "lies straight from the pit of hell." Since Broun, a Republican, had no opposition in the general election, a University of Georgia plant biology professor, Jim Leebens-Mack, and others started a write-in campaign for Darwin, the father of the theory of evolution. "We don't feel our interests are being best served by an anti-science fundamentalist representing us on the Science, Space and Technology Committee," Leebens-Mack told Reuters on Friday. The write-in votes in Athens-Clarke County will not count officially since Darwin was never certified as a write-in candidate, but Leebens-Mack hopes the campaign will encourage a strong candidate, Democrat or Republican, to challenge Broun in 2014. "I think there could be Democratic opposition, but even more likely is having a rational Republican who understands issues like global warming, scientific reasoning more generally," said Leebens-Mack. Broun received 16,980 votes in Athens-Clarke County, home of the University of Georgia, Broun's undergraduate alma mater. Broun's office issued a statement on Friday that did not directly address Darwin, saying that the congressman "looks forward to representing the ... constitutional conservative principles" of his constituents. The statement also noted that Broun "received a higher level of support from his constituents in Athens-Clarke County this election cycle than in any of his previous campaigns." (Editing by David Adams, Bill Trott and David Brunnstrom)

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Den 5 hrs ago Yes, of course he's a member of the science committee.

Andie 4 hrs ago "I like your Christ, it is your Christians who I do not like" Ghandi (from memory, probably not exact quote) I have no doubt there are perfectly nice Christians, but they should stay out of science or politics, and stop trying to make real life fit into their myths and fairy tales More Reply

Dave 4 hrs ago And what if Darwin had won....?

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More Reply

Sean T. 5 hrs ago Lets see; Congress is full of nut jobs and |d|ots. Congress members are voted in by the American public. So what does that make the public???

DJ 4 hrs ago I'm an old fart and I hang out with a few college students sometimes and I find that they don't know anything about science or history or recent history. They don't really care about politics or about current events. They may have seen a headline or two but they don't know anything about the facts. I fear for the future of our country if they are the future/present voters. I fear that the masses out there, electing these backward people, are like these students and they have no clue whats going on. No critical thinking skills. More Reply

Bill 11 hrs ago How long will it be before this Darwin guy is asked to produce birth certificate and academic records?

David R 3 hrs ago

It's called sarcasm dude