Editorial

Scanners are godsend for election

Tuesday, November 9, 2004

In the primary and general elections of 2004, Red Willow County was one of the test sites in Nebraska for the counting of ballots by scanner. So how did it go?

"It was wonderful," said Pauletta Gerver, the Red Willow county clerk. "There were no glitches and the last of the 17 precincts came in at 10:15 p.m., just two and a half hours after the polls closed."

An impressive performance, especially when you consider that the turnout of Red Willow County voters -- 5,329 -- was among the largest in recent years.

To show the difference from the hand-counting of votes, Gerver said the election result were tabulated by scanners more than five hours earlier than past elections. "About the earliest the last precinct came in during hand-counting days was 3:30 a.m.," she said.

The flawless performance of the scanners is good news for other Nebraska counties, because, in 2006, votes will be counted by scanner in all counties in the state. "Clerks from other counties have been calling me and I've been telling them, 'The scanners are great. You can look forward to using them."

Gift for Hayes County -- The citizens of Hayes County are getting a nice gift, thanks to a devoted Rutherford B. Hayes historian from Massachusetts.

According to Jason Frederick of the Hayes Center Times-Republican, John Fatherley will be in Hayes Center Friday to present the county with a town seal from Villa Hayes in Paraguay.

Hayes, the 19th president of the United States, is held in high esteem in Paraguay because of his significant contributions in helping Villa Hayes gain independence from Argentina. In addition to the town seal, the historian will also be presenting Hayes County a framed portrait of President Hayes and two maps showing Paraguay before and after the countries' arbitration in 1878.

The Friday ceremony in Hayes Center will be at the high school, beginning at 10 a.m. (MST).

Come Home to Cambridge -- To show city dwellers the joy of living in a small town in the middle or rural America, the people of Cambridge are taking their show on the road. A week from Saturday -- on Nov. 20 -- Cambridge will be among 40 Nebraska agencies with exhibit booths at Adam's Mark Hotel in Denver.

With the help of the school, city and Cambridge businesses, Andela Taylor will be presenting a Powerpoint visual display, showing Cambridge's many attributes.

Cambridge has a lot to offer. It's a friendly town with energy and spirit. We applaud them for their initiative in inviting metro residents to come home to the joy of small town living.

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