LETTER: Nye County and paper ballots
I read about Mark Kampf’s desire to have paper ballots counted by hand in Nye County (Wednesday Review-Journal). I experienced that situation in the ’60s when I was a precinct captain with about 900 registered voters. We had only paper ballots and the counting was done by the official poll workers.
Our elections usually had between eight and 20 contests, and we had about 70 percent participation. Even with the smallest number of races and polls closing at 7 p.m., the counting wasn’t complete before 3 a.m. the following day. There were instances when the workers were so exhausted (the polls opened at 6 a.m.) that errors were made in handling the ballots. Each contest had to be counted and verified before going to the next. If there was any problem with a voted ballot, the time increased dramatically.
Therefore, all you Nye County voters, don’t expect your election results for some time after the polls close. And best wishes to those who will be doing the counting. Stay awake and alert for 24 hours.
