MADISON COUNTY — The election office in Madison County can be a busy place, especially in the months leading up to primary and general elections when dozens of candidates file to run.
When most, if not all, prospective county candidates running for an office register, election director Mary Retherford helps sign them up.
Nearly all candidates know which district they seek to represent, she said; if not, Retherford pulls out an official boundaries map and helps him or her find the proper district.
The recent resignation of Pendleton Town Councilman Mike Romack, who found he doesn’t live in the district he thought he represented, proves it might be best for all candidates to double-check.
Candidate sign-ups work on an honor system, county officials said. Election officials trust candidates are living within the boundaries they say they do, Retherford said.
There is no one specifically assigned with the county to double-check or look into filings to make sure candidates live within the district they say they do when they file to run for office.
“Normally most people know what council district they live in,” Retherford said. “In his (Romack’s) situation he thought he knew, but he obviously didn’t.”
Madison County election officials register candidates all the time and rarely, if ever, run into an issue of an elected official having to step down because of not living within proper boundaries.
Retherford, who has worked 40 years with county government, said in all her time dealing with candidates, she’s never seen someone have to leave office because he lived outside of an area he thought he represented.
“I’ve been in here for years, and this is the first time it’s happened,” she said. “If people are unsure, come to the office and look at the map,” Retherford said. “It only takes a few minutes.”
