OpenCdA.com has added two local news organizations to our blogroll.
The first is LarryShook.com. The best way to “tease” his website is to say that he probably has few friends among the Cowles family or The Spokesman-Review newspaper’s editorial staff . And he’s not likely to get the key to the City of Spokane from Mayor Verner either!
The second is Your Local Capitalist. It’s a local free newspaper that focuses on a few stories of local interest and tells them completely. What a refreshing change!
Please take time to visit these sites. You should be pleasantly surprised.
Now I find that the election process is more open to fraud than I previously realized. When you vote tomorrow you find that you will be given both a Republican and a Democrat ballot. The used ballot goes into a locked box (this is good), but the unmarked ballot goes into an unlocked box. (not good) The unused ballots go into an unlocked bag. (not good). Now imagine the election judge of a precinct driving those unmarked and unused ballots to the election office with no supervision with the ballot box. Does it take much imagination to see how monkey busy could occur? 1. A voter might “accidently” slip both the Republican and Democrat ballot in the locked box. 2. The people left alone with the locked box and the blank ballots could “have their way” with the election.
I feel sorry for the judges left being alone with this material. They could get caught in the cross hairs when fingers get pointed. Let’s hope things across the state go well.
I feel it is only fair to the citizens to quickly learn if the number of people signing the voter book tallies with the number of ballots cast.
Comment by citizen — May 24, 2010 @ 4:00 pm
citizen,
Why not deface the unused ballot before you put it in the unlocked box? Likewise, any unused ballots remaining after the poll closes should be defaced in the presence of witnesses before they ever leave the polling place. They probably need to be left intact for accounting purposes, but they can have disqualifying marks made on them. The word “void” in big black letters across the face comes to mind.
Comment by Bill — May 24, 2010 @ 4:30 pm
I think the biggest problem is from unreturned absentee ballots. They should be a different color or size and removed from any ballot boxes into which they happen to find themselves.
Comment by Dan — May 24, 2010 @ 6:03 pm
All the “little problems” can throw an election. Remember the cry, “just five votes”.
Bill, you seem to make it simple. Perhaps you should run for Ysura’s office.
Comment by citizen — May 24, 2010 @ 6:15 pm
Bill is right. You need to deface it. I had a reply to this post, I will finally post it now.
Thanks for the links. It appears that it’s a real mess (the corruption in Spokane) and it’s so thick nothing will ever be done about it unless a grand jury gets it and it should not have to go that far. Shook’s post is quite the eye opener about this area in general. It’s not like Spokane is that far away. In fact North Idaho is embedded in it. What is unsettling is that the evidence is all there for officials to do something about the death of Savage, yet nobody does anything. Go figure – those powers above us all run the area.
I liked this quote that Shook revealed.
In other words the FBI was worthless.
I like refreshing changes – one nice refreshing change would be to see some folks in handcuffs.
I will be voting in the primaries tomorrow. I will be taking a nice sharpie with me in order to void the other ballot. It will have a big X on it with the word VOID, so it will definitely remain UNUSED
Comment by Stebbijo — May 24, 2010 @ 6:51 pm
Dan,
Great idea! There is no reason why absentee ballots need to be the same color as polling place ballots. The only requirement is probably that the contrast with the voter’s marking needs to be great enough for the whizbang machine to distinguish reliably.
Citizen,
Bite your tongue! Read my lips: No public office! Thanks for the compliment, though.
Stebbijo,
Generally, watching corpus corruptus and mopus erectus do the perp walk in handcuffs is not especially satisfying. Then again, “not especially satisfying” still beats “Well, they got away with it again.”
Comment by Bill — May 24, 2010 @ 7:09 pm
Great idea about voiding your unmarked ballot! At least it sends a statement….don’t mess with my vote!
Comment by citizen — May 24, 2010 @ 8:24 pm
Bill, I understand that the perp walk is better than nothing. What would be really satisfying might be the change within the legislature regarding the inefficiency related to the SOS regarding the election laws AND convictions. Yep, I want it all.
Citizen is right. Anybody who votes the primary should save his or her vote by defacing the other one. I can hardly wait to use my sharpie!
Comment by Stebbijo — May 24, 2010 @ 9:19 pm
Well, I want to report that I have now voted in the primaries. There are not two sleeves. You fold the unused/defaced one in half. Not really that private. I forgot my sharpie, but I marked the unused one up enough to make sure it remains unused.
I will divulge one of my votes!
I voted for Gary Ingram! 🙂
Comment by Stebbijo — May 25, 2010 @ 9:24 am
I just voted and found something of interest on the “R” Ballot.
It “seemed” that for each position, the incumbent was listed at the top with the challengers listed below them, with one exception.
In the Currie contest, Fillios was listed in the top position and Currie was listed at the bottom. Piazza was at the top of the list in his contest.
With name recognition and general apathy as it is, does the position of one’s name at the top of the column play a role in getting a person’s vote? I have no idea, but just found this anomaly very interesting.
Another honest mistake, pure random typing of names or an attempt to siphon votes away from Currie??
I know, a great conspiracy theory, but what the heck……….
Comment by CDAShenanigans — May 25, 2010 @ 11:04 am
CDAShenanigans,
Hopefully someone here will have the definitively correct answer. I seem to recall reading somewhere that during ballot printing, names are intentionally rotated to avoid the appearance of favoritism. That may have been from other states I’ve lived and voted in, though.
Comment by Bill — May 25, 2010 @ 11:14 am
I decided to support my self as I’m told I do a good job. So I voted for myself in precinct 46. (-: The ‘not voted’ ballot is deposited in a double LOCKED discard box.
Comment by Gary Ingram — May 25, 2010 @ 2:55 pm
Names are randomly rotated during the ballot printing. No bogyman here.
Comment by Gary Ingram — May 25, 2010 @ 3:01 pm
Well, I voted for you, Gary – in precinct 47. Was I supposed to?
So, why isn’t there a sleeve for the unused ballot? I had to mark up my unused ballot and I was trying to be discreet. Oh well.
The locked box for the discard was on the floor – a blue plastic tub. It was wierd.
But, I have never voted in the primaries until now – so I am not even sure if I did it right.
Comment by Stebbijo — May 25, 2010 @ 4:05 pm
Thanks for your vote Stebbijo. I can’t recall how it was done in past elcetions, but you were right. The plactic tub on the floor was for unused ballots. No sleeve, just fold it and slide it in the slot. The tub cover had two of those numbered plastic locks that have to be cut to open, one on each side.
Comment by Gary Ingram — May 25, 2010 @ 6:20 pm