County Is Going Too Far, Rural Voters Say New Precinct Forces Bunco Road Residents Into 23-Mile Drive To Vote

Having their gravel roads passed over for paving year after year was bad enough.

That was before residents along Bunco Road - a dust-and-rock path that splits farms east of here - learned Kootenai County has realigned their voting precincts.

This seemingly innocuous bureaucratic shuffling has evoked wrath among some 100 county residents.

Bunco families, it seems, will have to drive to Twin Lakes to vote in the next election. For some, that’s a 23-mile drive - one-way - on a route that takes them right past their old polling spot 15 miles closer.

“It’s ridiculous. It makes you feel like a stepchild,” said a furious Connie Ryan, who lives with her husband, James, off Bunco Road. “It’s easier to go to Coeur d’Alene and back than it is to do what they want.”

County officials recognize the inconvenience but say it was the best solution they could find.

“We had the largest polling places in the state,” said elections clerk Dedie Beard. “Last time, people walked into the courthouse screaming about how long the lines were.”

In 1994, some polling places drew 2,600 people. So a committee of Democrats, Republicans, county workers and the League of Women Voters redrew the boundaries. The 33 districts jumped to 49; most will be host to fewer than 1,000 people.

“Any time you draw a line on a map, there’s going to be someone on the wrong side who’s not happy,” Beard said. “We tried to do what was most helpful to most people.”

Most county polling sites are within a few miles of residents’ homes. Most Athol residents, for example, will vote at City Hall.

But that site was choked with people, Beard said. Combined with new growth, leaving in the 100 or so families south of Bunco Road merely would have delayed the inevitable overcrowding, said Tom Taggart, county administrator.

So a new precinct was created last fall and residents were notified a week ago. And the only available site for the new polling place was a fire hall near Twin Lakes.

“I physically drove it, and there’s nothing (else) out there,” Beard said.

Residents suggested the Silverwood Theme Park as a polling place, but Beard argues that would spark trouble during May 28’s primary election.

“Do you want really to fight the crowd at Silverwood the day after Memorial Day?” she asked.

Athol isn’t the only problem site, either. Beauty Bay residents, formerly able to vote in a drafty neighborhood Boy Scout office, now must drive to Coeur d’Alene or Harrison.

The county will consider changing the Athol polling site next year, Beard said, but residents are legally stuck with it for now.

Meanwhile, angry residents could vote by mail or file absentee ballots.

“That’s fine for someone who’s a shut-in, but I like going to the polls,” said Lane Starr, who already drives 34 miles from his Bunco Road home to work every day. “I know my ballot’s going in the box. I’m right there to see it.”

Ryan - a Cuban native and naturalized U.S. citizen - said she also would rather be at the polls.

“When you spend nine years preparing to get certified (naturalized) everything you do as an American is important,” she said. “I shouldn’t have to miss out.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo; Map of Athol area

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