Skeptic that I am

This business encourages skepticism. Newspaper folk are skeptical of politicians, as politicians are skeptical of us. Everyday folk are skeptical of politicians and newspaper types. They should be. No argument here. Then there was the 2000 Florida hullabaloo, which raised the skepticism multiplier for all involved - the politicians, the news organizations, the commentators, the lawyers, the judges, the Supreme Court - and saddest of all, for voters in Florida and elsewhere.

In Tisbury, where beer and wine were on the ballot, there will be a recount of the 690-690 draw, and simultaneously a recount of the votes for selectman. Incumbent selectman Tom Pachico lost to challenger Jeff Kristal by just 14 votes. A few hours after the election results were posted late in the evening of election day, April 15, we began to hear suggestions from folk on either side of the beer/wine chasm that something wasn’t right about the tally. It was statistcally impossible, there were ballots uncounted, there were ballots thrown out by the counting machine that should have been counted, and on and on.

For me, and I’ve been following Island elections for more than 30 years, as a job, the inflamed ought to reign in their skepticism. If there is a place in the U.S. where vote counters can be relied upon to count votes fairly, it’s in the six towns here. In Tisbury, Marion Mudge and her counters will sort out the issues, if there are any, and the recounted record will be clean and clear. Not everybody will be happy, but with any luck the losers will be the skeptics.