Time to wait and see, people. The polls will close tonight at 8pm, with counts starting to come forward about 8:45 – 9:00pm. But as one of our astute readers said,
Dan English is still counting the votes, so how much trust can we place in the system? Your thoughts? Who are you supporting?
The ‘primary’ reason I voted the primaries was because of the Idaho Judicial Supreme Court race. I hope to see Judge Bradbury prevail.
I felt a level of distrust in the process this year, rightfully so considering the mess we have locally. My guess is this election will have the oversight it needs because of the microscope that Mr. Brannon has put on the process. That is a good thing.
I am not sure I like the plastic blue tub on the floor (where the unused ballots are deposited in my precinct), but I can live with it. 🙂
Comment by Stebbijo — May 25, 2010 @ 8:21 pm
Well, from the numbers coming in, doesn’t look so good for Judge Bradbury. However, even so, I don’t think we have seen/heard the last of that man.
Comment by Stebbijo — May 25, 2010 @ 9:06 pm
But on an up note that Jarvis guy from Meridian may be biting the dust. Okay, I know, this is not Twitter but all those guys still hanging out with Larry Craig? Well, you know. Goodnight.
Comment by Stebbijo — May 25, 2010 @ 9:19 pm
Nothing is perfect but there is room for improvement. I found out some things first hand at the polls. At my precinct there was a lot of confusion by voters over being given two ballots and where to put them. Fortunately, mistakes were caught before they happened by an eagle eye watching the process. The problem of greatest concern was ballots almost going in the wrong box by the elderly.
The boxes were locked, but there were extra locks in the kit.
Unexpectedly, a police officer came during the day to say he would be picking up the ballots. The election judge (the boss) had not been told ahead of time and was under the understanding that the judge was to transport the ballots to the office. I think that having an officer take the ballots is a good idea, but the workers should known ahead of time and be told his name and his badge number, so that a person off the street did not walk off with the ballots.
Hopefully the county clerks and the secretary of state will listen to people’s concerns.
Comment by citizen — May 25, 2010 @ 9:19 pm
Okay, I am back – I can’t take it. That Twitter stuff has got me in a twitter.
Idaho Reporter is reporting that Governor Otter (accepting GOP primary) is saying that Idaho is going to lead the nation out of the recession. “Idaho is going to lead us out of this recession. We’re going to lead this nation out of this recession.”
I am not going there. I am going to shut my mouth while I am ahead – okay, barely ahead.
Seriously, did he really say that?
Comment by Stebbijo — May 25, 2010 @ 9:48 pm
Please forgive me while I steal Twitter notes.
Jorgenson and Vick – the race is close – Jorgenson 16 votes ahead. (oooh… I smell another possible election contest)
Comment by Stebbijo — May 25, 2010 @ 9:53 pm
Of course I voted for the R.N. She is taking the lead on the Kootenai County commissioner’s race, but barely.
Okay, I am really done with my mock Twittering, I will have to wait until tomorrow to see how my estranged first cousin did in the Bonner County Commissioner’s race.
No twitters on Dan English. Did he make the nomination? 🙂
Gad, I may have to stay up all night. Vick just pulled ahead of Jorgenson.
Comment by Stebbijo — May 25, 2010 @ 10:02 pm
Looks like Labrador is going to take the nomination and to think I never saw him once on my TV! Who is this guy anyway? Is he from Alaska? Betsy Russel is reporting that Jay Leno is making fun of Ward. I mean really – making fun of guy for making a speech. How low.
Comment by Stebbijo — May 25, 2010 @ 10:13 pm
OMG, Vick is flying at the speed of light. This is not going to be prety.
Comment by Stebbijo — May 25, 2010 @ 10:15 pm
The Jay Leno video of Ward and his plagarized speech from Obama just made it to Twitter. Very very bad. Idaho again, is nationally recognized for more than just toe tapping. Ugh.
Comment by Stebbijo — May 25, 2010 @ 10:34 pm
Here is the link
Jay Leno Video of Ward
Comment by Stebbijo — May 25, 2010 @ 10:41 pm
Throwing the towel in..
After seeing the video of Ward, I hope Labrador takes the nomination. Looks like Jorgenson is going to lose to Vick and possibly Nelson could take the nomination for Commissioner here locally. Still close for the call.
In the meantime, Twitter has burned me out. They are still talking about how Gov. Otter is going to lead the nation out of the recession. Oh please, with comments like that, Leno will have more material.
For reals, good nite. Snore…
Comment by Stebbijo — May 25, 2010 @ 11:16 pm
Otter really thinks that Idaho will lead the nation out of the recession?
I agree that the voting process could be confusing to some. The blue box on the floor, the plastic sleeve that could have contained two voted ballots rather than one. I admit that I have only comments based on observations but no suggestions for improvement.
Comment by Susie Snedaker — May 26, 2010 @ 8:00 am
Stebbijo, thanks for the play-by-play last night. I was surprised to see the video of Vaughn Ward and the Obama speech. Does anyone know what happened with that?
Comment by mary — May 26, 2010 @ 8:38 am
Big Congratulations to the new County Commissioners, Jai Nelson and Dan Green! I was worried that Jai Nelson and Chris Fillios would split the vote and the incumbent would be re-elected, so I’m glad to see we have two new Commissioners to take our county forward!
Comment by mary — May 26, 2010 @ 8:41 am
Sorry stebbijo, while I most definitely am on an anti-encumbant tear, Bradbury has been overturned so many times you could roll him like a ball. Voting out the old is one thing, throwing the baby out with the bathwater is quite another. Had all three comms. been up for re-election, we would have had three new comms. So glad to see Currie gone. The worm is clearly turning….
Comment by rochereau — May 26, 2010 @ 9:16 am
rochereau, That’s okay, I doubt if Bradbury will ever successfully run for the seat again, but what I mean is he is not done as far as his activist approach regarding judicial change within the system. He is still an attorney and as far as I am concerned still effective as an influential leader for judicial change.
Comment by Stebbijo — May 26, 2010 @ 9:21 am
Dont know what happened to Ward but there is simply no excuse for that video. A man should have his own ideas not be taking them from a speech writer.
Comment by WannaBe JD — May 26, 2010 @ 10:50 am
Betsy Russell is writing about the Ward “video mashup” over on her site. Evidently, Ward had the wrong people working for him. He wrote the speech but a staffer inserted “the turns of phrase that echoed Obama’s words” he says, according to Russell’s post. The video was reported as “circulated widely online last few days.” It sounds like he is putting it all behind him now and he has plans to go camping in North Idaho.
Comment by Stebbijo — May 26, 2010 @ 2:07 pm
The video was right in front of our faces – Idaho Reporter (Dustin Hurst) published both speeches uncut on the 21rst. But that report was not sensational enough for the public to pick up on it so Baumback edited into a piece of “propaganda” – his own words, so it would get noticed. It worked.
Comment by Stebbijo — May 26, 2010 @ 3:23 pm
So here’s my question about the Vaugh Ward video: According to Betsy Russell’s “Eye on Boise” blog today, a Southern Idaho Labrador supporter named Lucas Baumbach, who made the viral video, said “it was propaganda”. He said he edited portions of Ward’s speech together. Here’s the link: http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/boise
What bothers me the most is that the Ward speech is reportedly from January of this year. So WHY did anyone/everyone who was concerned about this wait until two days before the Primary Election in 2010 to make this public? Was it so Ward would not have a chance to respond? And then they sent it to the late night comics like Jay Leno?
Isn’t this kind of twisted political behavior we citizens are trying to get away from?
Comment by mary — May 26, 2010 @ 6:50 pm
Mary, I’ll take a stab at answering your query as to why the video was put up two days before the election. According to the report from Eye On Boise, Baumbach was intrigued by an Idaho Statesman piece and another by the Idaho Reporter printed in early and mid May reporting about cut and paste sound bites that didn’t get any traction. So, being inspired by the go nowhere reports, he pulled this together with only a week left before the election. Not an honorable thing to do especially when he admits it was propaganda and hoping it would get some traction. Well it did, perhaps more than he intended but his time frame was short, only a week. So that explains the two day drive by shooting. The answer to your last question is, Yes! And Ward took the bullet, right between the eyes because of it.
Comment by Gary Ingram — May 26, 2010 @ 10:09 pm
Mary and Gary,
Lucas Baumbach ran against T. Allen Hoover for the Republican state Senate nomination from District 17, Ada County. Baumbach won the Republican nomination 1087 to 889. The Democrat nominee is incumbent state Senator Elliot Werk who received 761 votes in the Democrat primary.
Comment by Bill — May 27, 2010 @ 6:59 am
Might it be that the Republican party is splitting locally/statewide – so to speak?
It gets confusing to folks like myself, because Russell’s article calls the Baumbach video “brilliant” and he was the “man of the hour” – according to the Republicans.
Also, the rift between Jorgenson and Hart/Vick appears to be an issue.
Will this type of political discontentment encourage some Republicans to join an Independent ticket?
Comment by Stebbijo — May 28, 2010 @ 9:23 pm
Looks like Rally Right has a working majority in the Kootenai Republican Central Committee.
Comment by Ancientemplar — May 29, 2010 @ 9:03 am