Imagine my surprise, when I was told by a friend, that I was on the front page of The Vicksburg Post on Thanksgiving Day. The article stated that I was calling for a full recount of votes.

Wow! That was news to me! I did not ask for a recount. I was asking that every vote count. I had even sent an e-mail to the Post with my intentions, which was to exercise my right to examine the ballot boxes. I made no mistake in stating that my questions came from the area of absentee and affidavit ballots.

I called my opponent’s home phone and left her a message telling her I was not contesting the election, but wanted some questions answered about 103 ballots. With close to 1,000 ballots being hand-tallied, I had questions on some of those ballots. I know that all of those votes are not mine, and that, most likely, there are not enough there to win the election.

Contesting was not my objective, but making sure every vote had a chance of being counted was. My opponent had an e-mail sent to me stating that she objected to my canvassing the boxes because she was not notified properly. Because I could not physically serve my opponent notice, since she wasn’t in town and was unavailable in person, I am denied that right.

For those 66 voters who voted affidavit and your ballot was rejected, you should be notified as to why your ballot was rejected. If you registered at the Department of Motor Vehicle, your ballot was most likely rejected. To the 37 who voted absentee and your ballot was rejected or is missing — yes missing — I’m not sure what to tell you. Having experienced this election as a candidate has been quite an eye-opener.

My committee and I have learned a lot, and we see a need for a few legislative changes. I believe that it was not meant for me to win the bid this time, but for me to have witnessed this process and initiate a charge to push for changes in certain election processes. Whether you voted for me or not, you wanted your vote to count.

The election is over, but the fight for every vote to count is not!

Patty Mekus

Vicksburg