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Dear Editor, 

To say elections are politically charged these days, is an understatement. Therefore, it is imperative the election board and registrar work together to ensure the election process is fair, transparent, and well organized.  

The election board is an independent politically assigned board consisting of political party members, the numbers of each dependent upon which party controls the governor’s seat.  The registrar is elected by that board for a term of four years and it’s up to the board to choose and seat either the incumbent or another candidate at the end of that term. The registrar, in other words, serves at the pleasure of the Board of Elections.

Herein lies the issue: some Buckingham residents have become rather vocal at meetings in support of the existing registrar. It is not a publicly voted position, and interfering with the board and its members, regardless of the party involved, is counterproductive and prohibits the committee from getting their job done procuring the confidence of the county residents that their votes will be handled appropriately. 

Policy issues causing differing views among committee members should be the responsibility of the committee to resolve.  Lack of civility and grandstanding by visitors at meetings – regardless of who – does nothing to help the situation.

While folks are encouraged to attend election board meetings, perhaps they should also be invited to remain civil and respectful and allow the board and registrar – i.e. the committee, to do their job uninterrupted, ensuring all of us our elections remain fair.

Peter Kapuscinski
Dillwyn