Can’t we find a way to count faster?

By Democrat Editorial Board | The Natchez Democrat

Published Friday, November 13, 2009

Sheriff candidate Chuck Mayfield, and Ray Brown too we are quite sure, don’t want to wait several days to know the outcome of the Nov. 24 runoff.

In fact, if the winner is announced much beyond Nov. 25, Mayfield says someone will have to come to the hospital to inform him.

He’s just kidding. Hopefully the wait won’t really hospitalize either candidate, but it might be painful.

But, unless voters at the polls decide the race Tuesday, the wait may be on.

Elections Commissioner Larry Gardner said Wednesday that, due to the Thanksgiving holiday, it’s likely that no absentee ballots will be counted until Nov. 30.

We believe in turkey-eating too, but can’t we work this out if the race is close?

The outcome of this sheriff’s race is not only of high interest to almost half the county that voted in the first election, but of great importance to us all.

The day before Thanksgiving is a full workday for most of the world. The Friday after Thanksgiving is as well.

It seems feasible that elections commissioners and poll workers could get through a few hundred ballots by at least 5 p.m. Nov. 27. The counting might dampen a few holiday plans, we know, but it’s just this once, and it’s important to so many people.

If it’s close, you do the counting, and maybe someone in town will be nice enough to bring a bit of turkey and cranberry sauce to the courthouse for a treat.