“Heartened by Election Transparancy”, letter to editor by Dottie Hoche, Sylva Herald

To the Editor:

Veterans Day became a perfect example of what veterans fought and died for:

Democracy.

The county Board of Elections experienced what each of us has experienced:

A mistake.

Because of the checks and balances the mistake was discovered and corrected.

The Board chose to be transparent in a public meeting. They explained how the voting process works. The various ways of voting, such as curbside, how the ballots are collected, the verification process that assures the registered voter is matched to the voting roll, signs a paper to that effect and after voting on a machine, a paper copy of his ballot is fed into a machine that tabulates and retains that paper copy. The recording and transporting of the days total votes from each polling place follows a rigorous system of checks and balances too. Those measures are in place to detect any mistakes. They work!

Thanks to Chairman Kirk Stephens, the Board, Election Director Lisa Lovedahl and staff it is very clear that we have forthright and honest people serving our voting needs.

This public meeting addressed the concerns of voters who were not aware of the many steps in place guaranteeing that every vote cast is counted and verified.

The fact that members of both parties gathered as peaceful neighbors to understand how the voting process works is a picture of democracy. We now have a deeper appreciation of a complex system that may not prevent a mistake but highlights the mistake so it can be traced and remedied.

I felt uplifted and inspired by the reality of bipartisanship alive in our county. It is proof that we can hold different views and still respect one another with dignity.

I needed that!