Inconsistent lineup of Yes and No answers?

Boise Ballot Format Could Be Confusing

By Jill Kuraitis, 11-02-06

The Boise ballot shows minor inconsistencies in the format which may be confusing to some voters.

Pages 10, 11 and 12 of the ballot which will be in front of Boise City voters on Tuesday cover Proposition One, Proposition Two and a Boise City Initiative asking if a Ten Commandments monument should be placed in Julia Davis Park.

It's the way the YES and NO arrows are lined up relative to the questions being asked that appears inconsistent. Take a look.

Each proposition has a handy "What your vote will do" statement, after which appear the YES and NO arrows pointing to the hole to punch with a stylus. On page ten, the question, "Shall the above-entitled measure proposed by Proposition One be approved?" appears centered between YES and NO. Seems clear.

Page 11 is different, however. The "What your vote will do" section appears directly across from the YES arrow, and the measure's question, "Shall the above-entitled measure proposed by Proposition Two be approved?" appears directly across from the NO arrow. It's inconsistent with the format of Page 10, but will it encourage a NO vote? Not likely, said Becky McKnight of This House is My Home, the organization behind Proposition Two. "I'm confident in the voters being able to tell the difference," she said.

Page 12 is different in an entirely new way. It's inconsistent with the format of both pages 10 and 11, and it also lines up the section about "A NO vote..." with the word and arrow to YES.

Are you confused yet? Take a look again. The differences are subtle, but there.

Page 12 is the question about the Ten Commandments Monument, the outcome of which will no doubt be watched by Boise Mayor Dave Bieter, since it's the city which may have to move the monument and deal with the protestors and resulting mess. His spokesperson Elizabeth Duncan told me, however, that they're not concerned. "A yes means yes, and a no means no," she said. "The language on the ballot is very clear."

Brandi Swindell of the Keep the Commandments Coalition, which supports the measure, disagreed. "We're deeply concerned about it. We met with Chris Rich at Ada County elections along with our attorney, and asked that the County do Public Service Announcements about the confusion." She said that her group had not heard from Rich about the PSAs. "This has been a two-year battle for us [to get the monument returned to Julia Davis Park] and here we are at the end, and the ballot is messed up? But the damage is done," she said. Swindell thinks the ballot's format "may affect the outcome" of the election.

An Ada County elections staffer echoed the Mayor's office opinion. "I don't think it's confusing at all. Each vote is clearly explained under each measure," she said.

But three neighbors to whom I showed the ballot disagreed. They felt it could be confusing to some people, particularly those who are semi-literate or sight-impaired.

Chris Rich of Ada County elections, who said, "I'm the guy who said to the printer, 'run with it'," explained that the wording of the ballots comes from the Idaho Secretary of State's office, and his office "takes the verbiage and sets the punch positions." He said he didn't see any problem with the ballot. "I'm very comfortable with it."

But, he said, "If you're an advocate for a specific cause, then you might see a problem with it."

"We're voting 700 people a day in early voting, and nobody has spoiled their ballot and asked for a new one, or had questions or concerns," he said.

Nobody would talk on the record about the Keep the Commandments Coalition questioning the ballot format in order to position themselves for a court challenge if the measure doesn't pass.

But I heard it mentioned.

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