Timothy A. Hurst, chief deputy of the Secretary of State's office, has confirmed that Coeur d'Alene City Clerk Susan Weathers (pictured) was right when she said that the Souza-Sims-Orzell recall effort has to submit their signatures for verification by June 19. In a letter to Weathers, Hurst wrote in part:

I have reviewed them with Secretary Ysursa and with the Attorney General's Office and it appears that your interpretation is legally defensable(sic). The reference to "certified signatures" was not removed when the recall statues were amended in 2004. As you point out, in order for signatures to be certified, the petitions have to have been examined by the county clerk and the petition must have the clerk's certificate, as provide(sic) in section 34-1807, Idaho Code, attached. The requirement to submit the petitions with certified signatures within 75 days, as required by section 34-1704, Idaho Code does include the 15 business days that the county clerk has to check the signatures." Full letter here.

Question: How many times have I told you that you're barking up the wrong tree to challenge Coeur d'Alene City Clerk's Susan Weathers' knowledge of election code?