Elections are a complex set of events, run by fallible human beings, in which one should always expect some mistakes and the occasional misbehavior. After all, political office is a powerful thing. Those who seek to use it to accomplish what they perceive to be good ends are often able to rationalize the bending or breaking of rules.

In the 2002 elections, there have been a number of allegations of voting irregularities. Credible persons have alleged vote-buying by Republicans in Caldwell County and Democrats in Martin County. Over in Madison County, where political shenanigans were once an art form, a story broke before the election about the improper handling of absentee ballots by a candidate and his supporters. We’ll have to see how the investigations unfold in these places.

What I wanted to call your attention to today was a story out of Cumberland County . On Election Day, an elections official, a registered Republican, witnessed Democrats handing out “sample ballots” to voters – indicating whom they should pick – that did not bear the legally required disclaimer that such ballots were not official.

Later that day, Democrats in the county got a judge to issue an injunction to allow the apparently illegal sample ballots to be distributed anyway.

The Republican official took his case to the county elections board. The two Democrats on the board ruled that the sample ballots did constitute an election-law violation but that the results of the election were not affected. The Republican on the board dissented, wanting to know more information. The decision will likely be appealed.

I’d like to know more about this, too. I’m certainly not convinced that the illegal handouts changed the results of any election, but I’m also not convinced that the public has an adequate explanation of why a judge allowed the illegal ballots to be distributed after a straightforward challenge by a duly appointed elections official. Basically, something here just doesn’t smell right.

And that’s saying a lot when the subject is politics, which is inherently malodorous.