With one set of referendum questions put to rest, attention now turns to the next proposed ballot question, a people's veto of the tax reform law passed earlier this year.
A group called "Still Fed Up With Taxes," which wants the law overturned, thinks it should have been the other way around. They have gone to court to make their case.
They say that Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap should have met constitutional deadlines and certified their petitions putting the issue on the ballot next June.
The fact that Dunlap was in the middle of managing a statewide election and was operating with less than a full complement of workers as a result of budget cuts does not incline them to cut Dunlap a little slack.
They argue that he should admit his failure to meet his deadline and place the measure on the ballot for the next state election.
Far be it from a newspaper to dismiss the importance of deadlines, but we think Dunlap had the right priorities.
The petitions will keep until next week, and the tax-reform campaign, which appears to have already begun, does not have to wait.
Tuesday's election, however, was perishable. Failing to do what needed to be done to ensure that ballots were distributed and secure would create problems that are not so easily fixed. The impending race rightly took the top priority in the weeks leading up to the time that votes were set to be cast.
Dunlap noted that he was served with the papers for the lawsuit on the day before Election Day, the second busiest day of the year for his office. The busiest day was Tuesday.
Now that the last election is in the books, Dunlap can look toward the next one. Still Fed Up With Taxes will know if its question will be on that ballot soon enough.
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