Everyone's vote should count. Voters are given this right in our democracy. However, it is our responsibility to register and vote at the assigned place.

Most provisional votes were cast in good faith, I'm sure. However, in light of actions taken by Trudy Wade and Bill Fletcher, I have begun to question several things regarding these votes. Are they allowed by state law? If provisional voting is allowed, who is responsible for ensuring these votes are valid? Exactly when does a deceased person's vote no longer count, regardless of where they voted (news-record.com., Nov. 14, 2004)? If provisional voting is allowed, shouldn't all votes be checked for validity and counted? If the answer to this is yes, were the 93 votes found in the "storage vault" of the Guilford County Board of Elections two weeks later counted (votersunite.org)? Do the ones responsible for counting these provisional ballots actually check to see how many times Jane/John Doe residing at 123 Polling Place voted? Could this hypothetical person have voted at more than one place if he or she chose to?

Despite being portrayed as "sore losers," I respect these two individuals for their quest to ensure integrity in this and all future elections.

Fran Lankford
High Point

Editor's note: The 93 "lost" votes were counted but did not change the outcome of the election. There is disagreement on what state law intends regarding provisional ballots.