The foundation of our democracy is the integrity of the voting system.

Each ballot cast in an election must be properly recorded and accounted for, then tabulated while maintaining the voter's privacy. The state mandates the procedures necessary to accomplish this.

If the auditor's office departs from these procedures and a single vote is lost or left uncounted, then the integrity of the entire system is undermined. Voter will lose confidence and unscrupulous people will manipulate the system.

During the last election, 47 ballots from Deming were not counted. One of the two major parties demanded a recount and the omission was discovered and corrected.

On Feb. 14 Shirley Forslof, county auditor, conducted a meeting in which she outlined new procedures so that such an incident would not recur. Amoung these procedures were "guidlines for political party observers."

As a Marine Corps veteran of Vietnam, I have more than a passing interest in the integrity of the voting system.

My feelings are that with properly trained political observers from the two major parties watching over the count, that the integrity of our voting system will be maintained.

Sheila L Richardson