I read with interest the coverage of the Orangeburg County Legislative Delegation meeting recently. I must say I was both curious and troubled. These feelings grew after the next day’s account of the election director’s attempt to gloss over obvious inequities in his office for which he should be held accountable.

Is it just me, or in what many observers have called the most important election of our generation, the legislative delegation can only have 50 percent attendance to address issues and questions concerning voting irregularities? I just thought I’d ask. Certainly, the voters of this county deserve better from their elected officials.

Is it just me, or is this an obvious attempt to “circle the wagons,” with the “explanation” of why, a couple of weeks out from the election, we are having the problems described in this interview? I just thought I’d ask. This is so transparent that even the good legislative delegation boys’ network should be embarrassed to try and pull this wool over the eyes of the voters.

Is it just me, or is it troubling that the delegation chairman’s “… he’ll address that issue…” attitude reeks of “behind the door,” “back room deals”? Why, as the chairman, should that responsibility fall solely on his shoulders and not on that of the entire delegation? I just thought I’d ask.

Is it just me, or does it seem that the bickering within the delegation is driven by five “salt and pepper” guys (some of whom don’t show up on occasion) who tend to be contrary just because they can? Just thought I’d ask. Maybe it’s me, but did the campaign by elected officials and others in the last primary not reveal just how much they try to undermine and put people over politics? I just thought I’d ask.

Is it just me, or do decisions and voting patterns within the delegation seem to be in “lock step” as if a “meeting before the meeting” has taken place? I just thought I’d ask.

With very serious questions posed about absentee ballots during the primary election, do we find ourselves faced with the spectacle of incompetence from the elections office once again? Is this potential to call into question the results of Nov. 4 troubling to all who value democracy? I just thought I’d ask.

It is now rumored that a person of interest in the absentee ballot fiasco who is of limited means is being represented by a member of the delegation. Well, I wholeheartedly believe in clients receiving legal representation and the right of lawyers to earn a living, but, is it just me, or does this seem to be curious and, at the very least, a conflict of interest? I just thought I’d ask.

The upcoming election and the related issues are far too important for us to take a chance on not “getting it right.” The recent events potentially cast a shadow on the integrity of the electoral process. Is it just me, or do those same events remind us that we have been down this road before? I just thought I’d ask.

– Linda Carnes, Orangeburg/Swansea

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