A remarkable number of local elections Tuesday left the candidates - and the voters - temporarily unsettled, leaving the counting of absentee ballots to determine the winners.

In Auburn, former city fire chief Mike Quill was leading incumbent mayor Tim Lattimore by 42 votes late Tuesday night, with about 500 absentee ballots having been sent out to voters.

The Cayuga County Legislature District 7 race closed for the night Tuesday with Legislature Chairman George Fearon holding a 17-vote lead over challenger Lon Fricano; the candidates for town supervisor in Fleming were separated by 14 votes; town supervisor candidates in Summerhill by seven votes; and town supervisor candidates in Owasco by only five.

The only thing voters can do now is wait for the process to be completed, and we urge the Cayuga County Board of Elections to be as open and accessible to the public as it possibly can in the coming days to keep people informed.

We recall the circus-like atmosphere in Florida following the 2000 presidential election, where party officials scrutinized - and argued over - slight imperfections in the way paper ballots had been punched.

The counting left many voters wondering whether their votes were being accurately credited to the candidate they voted for.

As for the candidates, their party leadership and their lawyers, we expect the absentee-ballot counting to be carried out with the solitary goal of getting it right.

They have the right to observe the process, but they need to let the county election commissioners do their jobs without interference.

Our local election workers are out of the spotlight most of the year, but we expect them to be visible and vocal during the process of counting absentee ballots so that voters can be sure the system is working the way its supposed to.