Donna Tries to Buy Back an Honor Vote
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Donna passionately argues with Bow Tie Boy about the significance of voting for Bartlet versus Ritchie, showcasing her political fervor.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
N/A (mentioned)
Congressman Chuck Webb appears only as a tally name on-screen, part of the electoral backdrop that makes each vote feel consequential in the moment.
- • Win his close race (implied by tallies).
- • Benefit from turnout dynamics tied to the presidential race.
- • Down-ballot races are affected by presidential turnout.
- • Close margins make each vote meaningful.
N/A (mentioned); functions as the target of Donna's corrective effort.
Governor Ritchie is the recipient of Donna's mistaken absentee vote and the ideological foil invoked by Bow Tie Boy; he exists here as the opposing candidate whose name catalyzes the confrontation.
- • As candidate, to attract votes (contextually implied).
- • Serve as the contrast to Bartlet that stokes partisan skirmishes.
- • Votes for him matter to supporters on the ground.
- • Opposing candidates personify the threat for staff.
N/A (mentioned); her presence is inferred through Jack's association.
Nancy McNally is referenced indirectly when Jack says he was transferred to her office; she is not present but her name establishes Jack's White House posting and lends institutional weight to his presence.
- • Staff the National Security Council with capable officers (implied).
- • Maintain continuity of national security staffing during major events.
- • White House staffing decisions shape who shows up on critical nights.
- • Experienced officers are valuable in high-stakes environments.
N/A (mentioned as tally figure); functions as the ideological anchor of staff loyalty.
President Bartlet is not physically present but appears on the on-screen vote tally serving as the abstract object of loyalty Donna seeks to defend and the candidate whose vote Donna wants offset.
- • Maintain electoral lead (as implied by the tally).
- • Be the unifying figure staff feel compelled to defend.
- • Election results and tallies drive staff behavior and anxiety.
- • Supporters will act, sometimes comically, to defend a candidate's honor.
Anxious and mortified on the surface, fiercely honor-driven and resolute underneath; embarrassment quickly turns into righteous urgency.
Donna is frantic, embarrassed, and determined: she explains she mistakenly cast an absentee ballot for Ritchie, waves a photocopy as evidentiary proof, confronts a smug youth, then zeroes in on Jack Reese to recruit him to vote for Bartlet to 'balance' her error.
- • Neutralize the political damage from her mistaken absentee ballot by getting an on-the-spot offsetting vote.
- • Preserve personal and staff honor by demonstrating responsibility and taking corrective action publicly.
- • Reassure herself (and colleagues) that every ballot counts and that she's still useful.
- • Individual ballots matter and symbolic gestures signal competence and loyalty.
- • Personal mistakes must be publicly corrected to preserve honor and group reputation.
- • Voters can be persuaded in short encounters if appealed to on moral grounds.
Smug and dismissive; he relishes the opportunity to needle the opposing camp and exit with rhetorical flourish.
Bow Tie Boy appears as a passing antagonist: he mocks Donna aloud, questions what a staffer's ballot mistake implies about the President, and then walks off, leaving Donna riled and underscoring the partisan taunting on the street.
- • Undermine the competence of Bartlet's supporters by making the ballot error emblematic of larger failings.
- • Show off partisan superiority in a public, performative way.
- • Provoke an emotional reaction from Donna and her side.
- • Small public mistakes by opponents reflect broader incompetence.
- • Mockery is an effective political weapon in local confrontations.
- • Walking away on a barb demonstrates confidence.
Amused and accommodating on the surface; slightly bemused but willing to comply out of courtesy or a shared sense of civic duty.
Lieutenant Commander Jack Reese arrives from a taxi, answers Donna's barrage with polite bemusement, reveals his recent transfer to Nancy McNally's office, and agrees — without verifying the photocopy — to go inside and vote for Bartlet to 'make it a wash.'
- • Cast his vote as planned while accommodating Donna's request.
- • Avoid confrontation and move the interaction along so he can vote.
- • Make a small, honorable gesture that costs him nothing.
- • Small acts of civic participation are meaningful, especially on tight nights.
- • Helping a flustered person with an honest request is the right thing to do.
- • Reputation and protocol matter in different ways; a private courtesy is acceptable.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Donna brandishes a single-sheet photocopy of her absentee ballot as a prop to prove that she legitimately voted for Ritchie by mistake. The copy functions as evidence, a pleading device, and comic punctuation — she offers it to Jack to validate her plea for him to counterbalance her error.
The Los Angeles-class submarine is referenced rhetorically by Jack to explain why he'd often been absent for voting; it functions as a background military credential that makes his agreement to help feel weightier and highlights civilian/military civic rhythms.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Washington, D.C. (the polling place exterior) functions as the practical stage for the encounter: a public, chilly night spot where voters, staff, and partisan operatives brush up against each other. It compresses national stakes into intimate street-level negotiations over a single ballot.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
The Office of the Joint Chiefs for Southeast Asia appears indirectly through Jack's past role; the organization provides the backstory that legitimizes Jack's presence and connects military personnel to the White House on Election Night.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Donna's discovery of her invalid ballot leads her to actively seek out a Ritchie supporter to offset her mistake, culminating in her successful plea to Jack Reese."
"Donna's discovery of her invalid ballot leads her to actively seek out a Ritchie supporter to offset her mistake, culminating in her successful plea to Jack Reese."
Key Dialogue
"BOW TIE BOY: Well, let me ask you this. Bartlet's suppose to be smart, right? He's the smart one, we're the dumb one. He knows best. So what does it say to you when his people don't know how to fill out a ballot? Maybe, he's a little out of touch. Is that what it says? [walks off]"
"DONNA: Or maybe it says that even with the President's supporters accidentally voting for the wrong candidate you're still going to get creamed, you little fascist! This is an honor thing!"
"DONNA: I voted absentee in Wisconsin, and I voted for Ritchie and I meant to vote for the President. Now, I think you should go in there and vote the other way to make it a wash."
"JACK: No, no. It's an honor thing, right?"