Of all the times to have a problem with vote totals, what with some states creating election integrity units in response to imaginary troubles their own elections officials have repeatedly refuted, the Ocean Pines Association’s discovery of a huge vote total disparity in its last election is more than unfortunate.

It’s distressing because any number of people will be inclined to think the worst, or at least will become more skeptical of future election outcomes.

There’s no telling at this moment how this summer’s election saw many more votes cast than is mathematically possible under the association’s one property-one vote system.

But whatever occurred, it had to be the result of a malfunction or misunderstanding rather than malfeasance, so voters should hold the Elections Committee and the OPA Board of Directors harmless in all this.

Ocean Pines residents have seen their share of political skullduggery over the years, but this latest misadventure doesn’t fall into that category.