input: def total_match(lst1, lst2):
      '''
      Write a Python function that takes two lists composed of strings and returns 
      the list that has the smaller total character count across all its strings.
  
      If both lists have the same total character count, return the first list.
  
      Examples
      total_match([], []) ➞ []
      total_match(['hello', 'world'], ['hey', 'there']) ➞ ['hey', 'there']
      total_match(['foo', 'bar'], ['foo', 'baz', 'qux']) ➞ ['foo', 'bar']
      total_match(['a', 'bc'], ['ab', 'cd', 'ef']) ➞ ['a', 'bc']
      total_match(['single'], ['multiple', 'elements', 'in', 'list']) ➞ ['single']
      '''
output:     
      count1 = sum(len(word) for word in lst1)
      count2 = sum(len(word) for word in lst2)
  
      if count1 < count2:
          return lst1
      elif count2 < count1:
          return lst2
      else:
          return lst1
  