Florida Election Generates More Interest In Process

The anxiety and frustrations over the election results in Florida has piqued an interest in how voting is conducted.

As county clerk, I have the responsibility to prepare for and conduct all aspects of the majority of elections held in Kootenai County. The election office also serves as a source of local information and assistance for those engaged in almost any election-related issue.

Thanks to my hard-working and dedicated elections staff, we have earned the reputation of being professional and completely nonpartisan. This is one of the reasons why the citizens and voters of Kootenai County can enjoy a great deal of confidence in both the conduct and the results of elections held here.

It is true that the elections process is by design political, but the political influence on the election outcome should strictly be the influence of the voter, not the political leanings of the election officers.

Since 1996, Kootenai County has used an optical scan method of balloting. Voters fill in ovals next to the candidate of their choice (including certified write-ins), thereby insuring “what they see is what they get.” This is in contrast to a punch-card system, where once a voter has pulled the ballot back out of the voting machine, they really have no idea of which holes in the ballot go with which of their intended votes.

And of course almost everyone is now an expert on the problems with hanging, pregnant, and every other version of that now infamous “chad.”

Our system also has enabled us to greatly reduce the time voters have to spend at the polling site.

Each county in Idaho chooses its balloting method. Statewide, counties are about evenly divided in their use of punch card, optical scan, and paper ballot systems. Each system in use today has its strong and weak points. A great deal can depend on how the ballots are handled and prepared prior to actual counting and can even vary according to environmental conditions, such as temperature and humidity.

Punch card systems actually have a very good record of reliability in Idaho. All county clerks around the state put a great deal of effort into their election processes and take a high level of pride from their operations.

I have spent many hours over the past few weeks fascinated by the ongoing election drama and have seen numerous “expert” opinions on the process of voting and other highly technical details. The public is getting an inside look at issues that usually only local election officials have to deal with.

However, just because someone is a political expert or elected official does not make him or her an elections expert any more than having been a student qualifies everyone to also be a teacher. My advice is to take many of things you are seeing and hearing in the media with a grain of salt, and in some cases a whole salt block. Much of this talk is far more politically motivated than it is technically correct.

I think it is safe to anticipate a blizzard of election related “reforms” at the federal and state levels in the wake of the Florida election. It is obvious that there are some real problems that need immediate attention. Other issues will take much more thought, time and effort, not to mention fiscal resources.

While this can certainly be a good thing, I would hope that in the rush to “fix this thing,” those in Congress and our Legislature would not get carried away by going too fast or too far. I believe Idaho has a very comprehensive and largely effective set of laws regulating elections. The county clerks also look to the secretary of state for guidance, assistance and certification of all election equipment and systems used in Idaho.

Our election laws have been developed over time in response to real needs and situations. Those that have stayed in place usually do so because they work. It’s important to ensure that proper checks and balances are maintained. For every change that is made for the “convenience” of the voter, it usually means that some other standard is possibly being relaxed.

Care must be taken to make sure the integrity of process never is compromised. However, it is possible to meet both the goal of increasing voter participation and keeping the integrity of the system intact.

A good example is the use of what we call satellite voting in Kootenai County. Until a few years ago, an absentee vote could be cast only in person at one absentee polling place per county, usually the county courthouse. We worked local legislators and got a simple change in the law to allow for “one or more” polling places. Now, thanks to the help and tremendous cooperation of six cities around the county, voters can cast their absentee ballots at any of these city halls plus at the county elections office.

We have strict procedures in place to account for these absentee ballots that are followed on a daily basis. This requires more effort on everyone’s part, but I believe the results have been worthwhile. In the just-completed general election, the rate of absentee voting in Kootenai County was almost 22 percent, or double that of the statewide average of 11 percent. The voters love it!

Anyone watching Florida will look at his or her voting responsibilities and local election process a little differently. Idaho voters can take assurance that past recounts have yielded results that show a high degree of accuracy.

Like other states, we do have a mandatory recount threshold. However, Idaho law provides that the recount is only by the method initially employed. This means all ballots counted by machines would be recounted by those same machines and not by hand.

However, in spite of all of the problems, grief and heartburn that have been caused by this unique election, I do see some positive things that may come out of it.

It has caused an incredible amount of interest and almost total immersion in one of our country’s most sacred and important principles. I trust all of the intense interest in this election will cause voters to want to be even more active and diligent in exercising their rights as “shareholders” in democracy.

I expect that in the future, voters will read their ballot instructions more closely. They will be quicker to ask for help if they’re confused, and I’m sure if they are confronted with a punch card ballot, the voter will punch that guy “chad” so hard he can’t help but fall off the ballot!

This sidebar appeared with the story: The explainer

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