CHICAGO, Illinois: The morning after Election Day, the Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards promised the nation that the Democrats would "make sure that every vote counts, and that every vote is counted."

Later in the day, as the Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. John Kerry, conceded defeat to George W. Bush, his 9th cousin and fellow “Bonesman” from Yale’s elite secret society, The Order of the Skull & Bones, he said: “In America, it is vital that every vote count.”

Kerry and Edwards, however, conceded defeat before some 170,000 to 250,000 provisional ballots from the state of Ohio, which could have changed the outcome of the election, had been counted.

As the public has been led to believe, the final tally came down to a near 50-50 split and it was the “swing state” of Ohio that made the difference.

But how were the votes actually counted across the nation on November 2?

VOTING IN CHICAGO

On Election Day, voters in Cook County (Ill.