Since this was written Friday, July 11, three days prior to the General Primary, I have a few observations about this primary not knowing how it will turn out. Since this is an opinion column, most of what I say is just that, my opinion.

My opinion is that all local people who help hold our elections are as honest in what they do as they can be. If there are any irregularities, it is because the rules that the state has made are crazy.

1- I have never liked or thought too much about absentee voting. In my opinion, more elections have been crooked with these ballots than any other way. No one should be able to vote absentee ballot other than our military people. If you are too sick, old or infirmed to get to the polls, it's a good possibility that you don't do your own voting. It's done by someone else. If you need to be out of town on election day, you don't vote - your choice. Point- 155 Absentee ballots were applied for.

2- When early voting became legal, it was the worst thing that could be done to our American voting system. When you allow people to vote for over a week, many things can happen. People's votes can be bought and stolen. There are so many ways that these votes can be manipulated that it makes me shudder to think of how it is done. This is done by state laws, and those who created them and supported them should be run out of the state. Some of them have lost their jobs, rightfully so. Point- 466 have already voted on the new computers.

3- I do know who started the computer voting, and there are many flaws to that system. Most counties throughout the state have to hire "experts" to come down on election day to make sure they work. What if they don't? There is no way to check how people on a defective machine might have voted. There is no paper trail. Computers mess up. Computers that people operate can be changed by "experts." I depend on computers getting out our newspaper each week and let me tell you as anyone can, they mess up. We had a system that did not mess up. If the Shoup Voting Machines broke, you could get every vote off that had been voted.

If I have learned one thing in this three score and ten years plus two, If it ain't broke, don't fix it, especially in politics and dealing with the public.

I have no idea at this moment who will win, lose or run-over, but I will do the same to most that I have always done. I will congratulate the losers and thank them for giving us the opportunity to choose. I will give my condolences to the winners for having to put up with and get "cussed" and discussed by us voters and taxpayers. Most people who don't pay taxes could care less who gets in office or how well they do their job.

While I'm talking about elections, here are a few ideas that I think should be done to make our elections worth going to vote.

I think that every office should be voted on by every voter that the office affects. Example- Offices of County Commissioners, Board of Education members or any office that has the power to tax. As it is, we have five commissioners and five board of education members. Each one has the same power to vote to raise taxes county-wide. We voters get to vote for one in one district. It seems to me that is taxation without representation. Four members can double your taxes, and there is nothing that you can do about it.

I don't have any problem with the member coming from a district, but we should all get to vote countywide on every candidate. I would be for these to be on the non-partisan ballot, so we can vote for people instead of a party.

I have my wishes of how the primary will come out, and I beg and plead for every registered voter to vote like I do, for those you think will best serve our county and state.