Before the general election last year, The Herald-Dispatch reported that more people were registered to vote in Lincoln County than there were people of voting age living there. At that time, Lincoln County Election Clerk Kim Toppins said the county has had some problems purging dead people and people who had moved out of state from the voting rolls.
Still, that leaves the question of why anyone would have to buy an election for a Democrat in overwhelmingly Democratic Lincoln County. In a Congressional district that includes Cabell, Wayne, Raleigh, Mercer, Mingo and Logan counties, most of which regard Republicans as the plucky comedy relief instead of as competition, would the vote in Lincoln County be that critical to putting a Democrat over the top?
Some other things we would like to know: Who sold their votes, and for how much? Also, there has been only one true Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives since 1990, but he has remained quiet about this whole affair. What does he have to say about all this? And what about the two U.S. senators?
