The May primary came and went, and little was heard from the individual precincts about voting problems – a sign of strong management from the election boards in Nash and Edgecombe counties.

Credit is due to Whitney Davis, Nash County Board of Elections director; and Jerry Spruell, Edgecombe County Board of Elections director; and their staffs for their time and preparedness.

The two directors were named to their posts in recent months – Davis took over in February, while Spruell was named director in September. The combination of their first primaries and the record turnout by voters who wanted to cast ballots for the Democratic presidential hopefuls could have led to a dismal ending.

But the hitches in Tuesday's election were slight compared to the horror stories that have plagued cities and states – Florida, Ohio – in previous presidential elections. A precinct in Nash County ran short on the forms voters sign before voting, and two polling locations in Edgecombe County ran out of ballots. The locations affected by the setbacks stayed open after most of the polls had closed to accommodate voters.

Considering the Twin Counties saw a 400 percent increase in voters compared to the 2004 election, it was a job well done.