Strong turnout reported thus far in mail election
by Brent Shrum, Kootenai Valley Record
October 23, 2009
Strong turnout is being reported so far in a countywide mail ballot election.
Nearly 10,000 ballots were sent out Oct. 8. All county voters were sent a ballot containing a question of whether or not to change the county’s system of government so that all county officials are elected on a nonpartisan basis.
Residents of Libby, Troy, Eureka and Rexford are also voting in municipal elections for mayor and city council positions.
As of last Friday afternoon, close to 2,000 ballots had been returned by voters. Ballots may be returned to the courthouse as late as 8 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Around 200 ballots came back due to delivery problems, said county elections clerk Leigh Riggleman. Some were undeliverable due to clerical errors, and others were returned because the recipient had moved and not left a forwarding address. Riggleman said she and others in the clerk and recorder’s office have been working to get those back in the mail system as soon as possible.
Mail ballots are being used for both the countywide ballot issue and the municipal elections in the hope of saving money and promoting higher voter participation. The turnout so far is encouraging, Riggleman said, but she added that her office usually hears only from those people who are having problems.
"We normally don’t hear from people who say, ‘Ooh, I really like this,’" she said.
Riggleman said she has been getting a couple of calls a day from people who don’t like the mail ballots or who didn’t know there was an election. Some people aren’t happy that they have to pay postage if they send their ballot back through the mail. Others just don’t understand the ballot issue regarding nonpartisan offices and are calling to get more information. Riggleman said she explains the issue to voters while trying not to sound like she’s for or against the change.
"I’ve worked really hard not to be biased," she said.
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Editor’s Note: See the October 20, 2009 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, on Tuesdays, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
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