The right to vote is a freedom our country holds in high regard.

The right to know who won should be equally as important.

But in Adams County getting the results has become a bit of a fiasco.

It is difficult to point to one flaw in the system, but it is easy to say, “Things should have run more smoothly.”

The vote counting process has taken too long, and that’s not fair to the candidates or the voters.

Election officials now have their first big election with the new Diebold electronic voting machines under their belt. It’s time to evaluate and map out a plan to make things better next time.

A few red flags flew before the latest election, including widely known difficulty in downloading information from a memory card, but officials failed to recognize the warning and plan accordingly.

As a result, the same problem occurred Tuesday and an unprofessional screaming match erupted.

Hindsight is 20-20, so now it is time to look forward to the upcoming runoff election and make sure tallying methods improve.

Vote counting needs to be a priority. While the law gives up to 10 days after the election to get all the results completely tallied, it should not take that long.

Counting needs to occur after hours and on weekends, if necessary to provide voters and candidates with timely information. And any possible computer glitches need attention before Election Day.

Candidates who have worked hard throughout the race have been left in limbo, not knowing whether to campaign or not.

And voters have been left without a basic right — the right to know.