Harry Maxwell “Max” Healy of Gloucester, who retired in 2016 after 60 consecutive years as a county election official, was commended by the Virginia House of Delegates this year for his lengthy service. 

Del. Keith Hodges (R-Urbanna) presented the framed commendation to Healy during a local gathering of family friends held in honor of Healy’s public service this fall. 

A lifelong Gloucester resident, Healy said he voted for the first time when he was 21 and the next year, in 1956, he was appointed as an election clerk. 

Healy next served as an election judge and went on to be the Botetourt precinct chief until his retirement. Through his tenure, votes were counted first by hand, then mechanically and most recently by electronic voting machines. 

“For several years after I started, they used paper ballots and voters stuffed them in the ballot box. We just dumped them out on a table to count them and it was just a mess. There were pieces of...