Smallest county to go for Kerry?

[jimrtex]

Kennedy County - TX.
Kerry won with 85 votes, to Bush's 82.

Yeah, that must be it. Just 402 people in the whole county. Really makes you wonder how a local government can function with so few people.

Only one 'n' in Kenedy.  It is named after Mifflin Kenedy who was originally a partner in the King Ranch with Richard King.  The two later split the ranch, and the two ranches comprise a large chunk of the county (and adjacent counties).   The county was formed in 1911, partially because of its distance from Brownsville (about 100 miles from the county seat of Sarita to Brownsville), and party to avoid political domination from farmers in the Rio Grande Valley.

[jimrtex]

While it is not the smallest county in the United States (despite its huge, continual population loss), it is the one that cast the fewest votes - Loving County cast exactly twice as many.

Wait a minute...how could there have been 80 votes in Loving County?  Doesn't the county only have 60-odd people in total?

Because they've been cracking down on vote fraud.  156 voted in 2000.  Residency for censuse purposes isn't necessarily the same as residency for voting purposes, and some people maintain a claim to residency in order to vote in the county, which has some highly-contested local races.

[jimrtex]

Kennedy County - TX.

Kerry won with 85 votes, to Bush's 82.

Yeah, that must be it. Just 402 people in the whole county. Really makes you wonder how a local government can function with so few people.

Consider all the incorporated rural towns and villages that have 400 or fewer persons. Most of them have local governments that are working fine. In comparison with Kennedy Co, I would expect that the only substantial difference is the extent of the small-population county compared to a town.

I'm sure they know what they're doing, but it's hard to see how a local gov't could run a school, and road maintenance, and a health department, and a police force, and a driver's license center and a million other things when there are only a few hundred people altogether.

School districts in Texas are run by school districts.  The school district in Sarita runs an elementary school (K-6) with 83 students in 2005-6.  Middle school and high school are bussed to the next county.

The state maintains US 77.  There aren't any other roads in the county.  If a county is small enough, being county commissioner means you drive the road grader.  If you have a health problem you go to Kingsville, or if severe to Corpus Christi.  With 400 residents you don't have a doctor, so you go to Kingsville for that as well.  Sarita is not incorporated so no need for police.  The sheriff can patrol the the highway.  Driver's licenses are handled by the state.