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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Court Rejects Spencer Ballot Protest

(Larry) Spencer said it boils down to following the law and not making exceptions for the sake of convenience. “It’s very much about following the rules. Complacency in elections is a recipe for disaster,” said Spencer, who plans on pressing the issue in the courts and the Legislature. County Clerk Marie Scott said the security guidelines are being strictly adhered to. They include storing the locked ballot boxes in a secure location with an armed guard. “The processes that I follow are authorized and approved by the secretary of state’s office. Ben Ysursa is Grand Poobah when it comes to conducting elections — not Larry Spencer,” she said/Keith Kinnaird, Bonner County Bee. More here.

DFO: OK, I can see Spencer's point somewhat here -- that election rules are election rules, and should be followed to the tee? However, I also see a need for common sense to be injected here, particularly in Kootenai County, which had two, high-profile write-in races and beaucoup absentee ballots.

Question: What do you think?



D.F. Oliveria
D.F. (Dave) Oliveria joined The Spokesman-Review in 1984. He currently is a columnist and compiles the Huckleberries Online blog and writes about North Idaho in his Huckleberries column.

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