Imo the only reason the Russian troops were in Crimea was to keep order and prevent violence. NOT to control the vote.
I saw videos and the voters looked really happy. I didn't see any guns pointed at the voters.
But the real question is this - When was the referendum of the Crimean people to join Ukraine? Khrushchev did NOT have the authority to give part of Russia to Ukraine. So how can giving Crimea to Ukraine be legal? It's NOT legal to give part of Russia to another country without even a referendum.

If the US gives lethal aid to Ukraine then that shames America. There's already way too much killing in Ukraine. Instead of offering lethal aid, our country should be supporting the peace plan in Minsk.
The Secretary of the Russian Security Council - Nikolai Petrushev - said that if the US gives lethal aid to Ukraine that Russia would retaliate. But not military, only diplomatic measures. He believes that the US offering lethal aid to Ukraine was just a method for provoking war with Russia and I agree. The violent provocations from our country need to stop.
Imo, it's a Russian-Ukrainian problem that should NOT be solved by the US. It can only be solved by diplomacy and the peace plans in Minsk.