Election results official
BOISE – The Idaho state Board of Canvassers has certified final, official election results from the May 27 primary, and in the final count, state Supreme Court Justice Joel Horton defeated challenger Judge John Bradbury by just 253 votes out of 151,129 cast. The closest legislative race was in Ada County’s District 16, where just 21 votes separated GOP primary winner Chris Troupis (1,187 votes) from opponent Dennis Warren (1,166 votes).
The final certified results in that legislative race were dead-on, matching the unofficial results from election night, while the Supreme Court race tightened by a couple dozen votes in the final, official tally. Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa commended his elections staff and county staffers. “Nothing really changed from election night, there were just a few totals,” he said. “We’re getting better at it – I think the counties are. … That’s the way we like it – we don’t want things to change from the unofficial.”
He recalled a primary election back in 1982 when he was chief deputy to then-Secretary of State Pete Cenarrusa, and one race, a GOP primary for state auditor, had a 500-vote shift from the unofficial election-night results to the official canvass. That shift came because in the hand-written tallies, a 3 somehow got confused for an 8 – and the result was a different winner. Ysursa got the job of calling up the candidate who’d thought for nearly two weeks that he’d won the race, to inform him he hadn’t after all.
The state Board of Canvassers meets within 15 days after the election to certify the results. The board includes Ysursa, state Controller Donna Jones, and state Treasurer Ron Crane. At this week’s official meeting, Crane was off dealing with state credit rating business in New York, so Ysursa and Jones voted to approve the final results and signed the official, gold-sealed documents.
Ysursa said he was disappointed with the final turnout figure – just 25.32 percent of registered voters, the lowest since 1988, when the figure was 25.03 percent. “We’re not happy with that,” he said. But, he said, “It is not going to continue into a low turnout in the general – we expect a huge turnout in the general election.” Ysursa is predicting that 75 to 80 percent of registered voters will cast ballots in November, when a high-profile presidential race and congressional contests will top the ticket.
DUI checkpoints move out onto lakes, rivers
Idaho’s launching “intoxication checkpoints” on its waterways, in an effort to reduce alcohol-related boating injuries and fatalities. “A large number of boating accidents involve alcohol,” said Randy Herman, boating law enforcement training coordinator for the state Parks and Recreation Department. “Removing impaired boaters from the waterways is a critical element in creating a safe, enjoyable recreational environment for the public.”
It turns out this has been done in other states, including Arizona and Nevada, with some success, so now it’s coming to Idaho. The checkpoints will include complete safety inspections, checking for items like life jackets and working fire extinguishers, along with checking for intoxicated operators.
The intoxication level for operating a boat in Idaho is the same as for driving a car – 0.08 blood-alcohol level. The multi-agency effort, in cooperation with county sheriff’s offices around the state, will run all summer.
Otter says kids have a ‘nature deficit’
Gov. Butch Otter has declared June “Great Outdoors Month,” and said he’s troubled by a trend toward a “nature deficit” among young people who spend half as much time outdoors as children 20 years ago, and a lot more of their time on electronic media.
Boise got beat by Houston and Omaha?
Boise has made another magazine ranking, this time ranking No. 4 among Kiplinger’s “10 Best Cities of 2008.” The magazine, which will publish the rankings in its July issue, said its editors ranked cities “with strong economies, abundant jobs, reasonable living costs and plenty of fun things to do.” Here’s the list:
Kiplinger’s 10 Best Cities of 2008: 1. Houston 2. Raleigh, N.C. 3. Omaha, Neb. 4. Boise 5. Colorado Springs 6. Austin, Texas 7. Fayetteville, Ark. 8. Sacramento 9. Des Moines, Iowa 10. Provo, Utah.
Ever hunted for ‘leftover moose’?
The headline on an Idaho Fish and Game press release, “Leftover Moose Permits Available,” tops the news that “Idaho Fish and Game has 26 leftover moose controlled hunt permits available.” It continues, “The application period runs from June 15 through June 25. Any permits left over from this drawing will be available first-come first-served beginning July 10.” So those would be leftover leftover moose permits, presumably.