Cox says I'll run this show, thank you very much -- Faster election results on election night are on the way! Thanks, Georgia needed that.

The primary runoff of course was held on August 10. In an 8-11-04 post titled "Truth in Reporting -- And a handy source in the computer age," I picked on a news service's headline the morning of August 11 saying "Majette holds off late charge by Oxford."

The post stated:

"I understand that with a baseball game still going on, one cannot report the final score when a press deadline must be met.

"But when the above results appeared on Cathy Cox's returns, the Secretary of State's website also showed two significant counties had not reported: Fulton and Clarke. In light of this, I can't understand the late charge by Oxford aspect of the headline. The only late charge was 54 rising to 60 and 46 falling to 40."

A 9-28-04 PI explains why Ms. Cox's great reporting service was so late in putting up the numbers for Fulton and Clarke, something I could not understand. And thanks to her, why we won't have to go through the individual counties reporting in the future to see if what seems to be happening is in truth really happening results wise.

The PI reports:

Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox has issued a set of emergency orders aimed at the November elections.

Cox now will require that county registrars transmit vote totals to her office when one-third of the precinct counts are tabulated, when two-thirds of the precinct counts are tabulated and when the whole batch is finished. It is an Election Night issue. It seems that some counties have reputations for savoring the drama and wanting their numbers to have a big splash — by sending in their results only after all the other 158 counties have submitted theirs.

Are you listening, Fulton?

Cox also orders that candidates will no longer be allowed to stalk early voters.

In the same set set of emergency orders she declares advance polling spots off-limits to campaigns and candidates. During the primary, it was discovered that a loophole left early voters subject to button-holing by campaigners, even candidates, when they came to cast their ballots. DeKalb County generated the most complaints during the primary. Campaigns now must keep 150 feet away from spots where early voters do their stuff, beginning Monday, Oct. 25, through Friday, Oct. 29. The same distance rules apply to regular polling stations on Nov. 2.

Thanks Cathy, Georgia needed that.