Let’s be honest — while election security has been an issue across the country and even in Wyoming, in Park County it seems at least most people can agree that our local elections are run fairly.

But I’ll go beyond that. Local officials have gone out of their way to fix issues, and own up to mistakes, that could probably have been kept under the rug for awhile longer.

As we once again celebrate our nation’s independence, which led to the establishment of our constitutional republic, based on representative democracy and free and fair elections, it’s worth noting the work of local officials to ensure this key part of our nation is continuing to function.

Last year, as the Park County Elections Office worked on redistricting, staff discovered that nearly 100 county residents in the Frannie area were not able to vote for, or run for, Northwest College Trustee board positions.

It was an oversight by Northwest College, which had written its policy, not unreasonably, by tying board positions to the three school districts in Park County. Only, through an old quirk of school district lines, there are actually three Big Horn County school districts that slice into Park County.

So, the policy was rewritten and approved by the college board, as NWC President Lisa Watson noted the importance not just of correcting the matter and fully enfranchising the Frannie voters, but of noting the work by the county clerk’s office of discovering the issue and pushing to solve it.

These days, admitting error seems to be in short supply. It’s encouraging to see it be done, even in a relatively small matter, if it means helping citizens of this county.

Then Monday night, the Powell Valley Hospital District Board voted to appoint a member elected in the fall to the board. Why? Because she had been stricken from the voter registration rolls after having not voted in the last election.

The trustee in question, Shelly Hill, said she hadn’t voted due to vision issues that prevented her from being able to clearly see the ballot in the ballot box, and she said she hadn’t realized she had been stricken from the registered voter rolls. So, she registered again and said she’ll request an absentee ballot this time to be able to get the assistance she needs on the ballot. The board made it official, appointing her to the position to ensure the will of the people who voted for her was upheld.

Hopefully it highlights the importance of ensuring you keep up on your registration status — if you vote consistently you should be fine — especially for elected officials.

Both of these instances appear to be innocent mistakes, ones easily rectified.

It’s nice that in both instances those involved were eager to admit their mistakes and rectify the situation. These may be relatively minor issues, but in solving them and being public about it, all organizations involved have proven their respect for the rules and for the citizens of this county.