Floyd County hands its Democrats a purely epic, top-to-bottom beat down.

Maybe there'll be more to say about the election, and maybe not. The lopsided vote totals are here, and if you're in any sense anti-fascistic, they're not for the faint of heart.

In fact, county council incumbent Tom Pickett appears to be the only Democrat to win a race against an actual living, breathing Republican challenger -- and Pickett is so very core Democratic that he recently shared this announcement on his facebook page.

(the senior editor rolls his eyes so violently that somewhere, Lee Ann Wiseheart flinches)

Meanwhile, the balloting process itself lurched from insultingly catastrophic to merely ludicrous throughout the day. Whereas in 2011, when I knew I'd been defeated for at-large council by roughly 6:35 p.m., Floyd County's newly modernized voting center system failed almost as vividly as the Democratic Party. There were lines, improperly trained volunteers, more lines, and finally results were reported some time around 9:00 p.m.

But here's the takeway: Voters bitched fiercely about the shambolic new voting system, and then when presented their choices, happily opted for the very same county government officials handing them the damaged goods.

Wait, one more: Independent Clark County sheriff's candidate Mac Spainhour finished third with 28% of the vote. That's very interesting, indeed.

This being America, it's too bad we aren't allowed to vote on it. Are the little people outraged yet?

I prefer option two, below, which our new school superintendent has chosen not to attempt.

A referendum would permit a person like me, who has no children of his own, to nonetheless vote with my wallet in favor of the principle of secular public education, because I believe that secular public education is one significant hallmark of a diverse and civilized society. I do not believe that a diverse and civil society is furthered by fragmentation into various tax-supported Madrasahs.

My guess is that in terms of property tax, it would cost me a dollar a day for the entire year to keep neighborhood schools open. A referendum would also permit us to identify quite clerely who supports a diverse and civil society, and who isn't sure. This would be instructive, allowing us a chance to debate openly the nature of selfishness as furthered by tax "rebellion."

Superintendent asking board to close four schools, by Chris Morris (Tribune).

Option two would have been to go to the public with a referendum to raise property taxes — which would have been on average of $225 a year on a $100,000 house ...