Letter to the Editor: What could possibly be the reason to take away the right to vote from 29 people?

"I was extremely disappointed to see that our County Auditor, Ben Steines, has filed a motion in the case to keep the now famous 29 absentee ballots from being counted in the race for District 55 in the state house. 

I have always thought that Mr. Steines has done a great job as Auditor and has carried out his duties in a non-partisan fashion, but this action seems very suspicious.  It certainly fails the common sense test after it was proven that these 29 ballots were mailed before Election Day as the law says they needed to be. 

What could possibly be the reason to take away these people's right to vote?  I am sad to say the only reason I can come up with is the fact that Mr. Steines is Republican and right now the Republican candidate is ahead so there is no incentive to count those votes.  If he has a different reason, I would love to hear it. 

Now, I will admit I am a committed partisan Democrat, but I am darn sure that I would never want my candidate to win because people's right to vote was taken away.  I know Michael Bergan and his family, and I know he is a decent and moral man, so I have to ask him, 'Is this the way you want to win re-election?'."