That the Victoria School District needs money to upgrade its 50-year-old science classrooms, put a new roof on the elementary school, buy a new school bus and bring both school buildings into ADA compliance is without question. All told, USD 432 needs $3.5 million to accomplish the necessary upgrades.

Whether district patrons were willing to authorize a bond issue for that amount was the only question remaining. According to the results of Tuesday's election, a slim four-vote majority said the answer was "no."

The problem is, we don't know if we can trust the results of the election. At least four people have been identified who were given incorrect ballots and were unable to vote on the bond issue question. Quite likely, there are more than four.

"It's very possible people voted on the wrong ballots," Ellis County Clerk Alberta Klaus said this morning.

What?

"It's very possible people voted on the wrong ballots."

We understand the complexities inherent in polling a community of 1,200-some residents. There are three different townships, two school districts, two political parties, etc. Other than the partisan nature of the ballot, however, all political boundary questions are easily answered by one common identifier: one's home address.

And not so coincidentally, that's exactly what's printed out on the voter registration list -- right next to the individual's name. Once a poll worker has identified the voter and looked at the address, there should be no question as to which ballot the voter would receive.

And yet: "It's very possible people voted on the wrong ballots."

The only way that could have happened is if poll workers put the wrong ballot in voters' hands -- or fingers, as the case might be. Any individual who this happened to was basically stripped of their right to vote. In an election this close (277-273), the current outcome should be declared meaningless.

Victoria Superintendent Linda Kenne is understandably perplexed.

"We were willing to live with whatever the election turned out," she said.

But this election didn't produce a thing other than confusion. While Klaus is beginning a review today of the electronic and paper ballots cast, we believe there is only one appropriate course of action to take. Redo the election. That should be Klaus' recommendation to the board of canvassers Monday. It should be what the USD 432 Board of Education demands. And voters in the Victoria School District should make their voices heard at a brand-new election this November.

Beyond that, the county election officer -- Alberta Klaus -- needs to properly train all poll workers the fundamentals about which voter gets which ballot. Perhaps even replace every poll worker in Victoria with individuals who can match names and addresses with proper ballots.

The one-person, one-vote philosophy is not something to be taken lightly. It's very much a part of the underlying foundation of our representative form of government. During our 232-year history, we've had millions of honorable men and women die in battle for this cherished freedom of expression. To deny even one citizen his right to vote is to denigrate the sacrifice of those millions.

"It's very possible people voted on the wrong ballots" is a phrase that never should be uttered in Victoria, Kan., -- or anywhere else in America for that matter. There is nothing standing in the way of remedy; set a new election for Nov. 4.

Editorial by Patrick Lowry

plowry@dailynews.net