Smooth and Steady

The Vote in Latah County

By Joan Opyr, 11-07-06

My colleague down in Boise, Jill Kuraitis, has reported that the Idaho version of a mob scene is playing at Ada County polling stations, i.e., voters are facing twenty-minute waits. Okay, this is nothing akin to the nightmare facing voters in Denver, Colorado, but Idahoans aren't used to waiting for anything -- be it voting, traffic, or farm subsidies. Twenty minutes to us is like two hours to a Denver urbanite. Our patience is decidedly limited.

Meanwhile, up here in calm, cool, and collected Latah County, the Auditors' Office tells me that voting is steady but smooth. Unofficial pollwatchers in Troy and at the Latah County Fairgrounds have told me that the lines this morning were not outrageous but that the turnout "felt" heavier. This afternoon, the waits are not long, but there's no let up in the stream of voters; the numbers remain steady. What does this mean for Democrats and Republicans both statewide and local? I have no idea.

Me? I voted absentee. We haven't gone electronic up here yet, but I'm practicing for the future. I like a real, substantial, recountable paper ballot. Give me liberty or give me death, but don't give me Diebold.

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