Often… people now vote early

Inter Lake editorial

Election day officially is Nov. 4.

But for many people it's Oct. 6 - or any day between Oct. 6 and Nov. 4 that they choose to fill out their ballots.

An ever-increasing trend for people to cast absentee ballots means, in effect, that instead of a single election day we now have an election month.

Some 37 percent of those voting in the June primary election in Flathead County used absentee ballots. And that percentage may well increase for the upcoming general election, with a record 15,000 voters expected to cast absentee ballots in the 2008 election.

That changes the dynamics of election preparation. Campaigns have to get their messages across earlier and many voters have to make decisions earlier.

Because of the changed timetable, the Daily Inter Lake today launches a series of stories that, spread out over the next couple of weeks, will provide a preview of election races and issues.

There are some important questions for voters to decide.

Consider the big-money requests facing Flathead Valley voters during this election:

Do we want to establish a $10 million fund to buy and preserve open space in Flathead County?

Do we want to build a $6.9 million facility to house a consolidated emergency dispatch center?

And Kalispell voters also will be asked if they support increasing their taxes by $540,000 a year to pay for maintenance of city parks.

Beyond these pocketbook issues, county voters also get to choose a new county commissioner, either Jim Dupont or Steve Qunell.

A host of legislative contests - for nine House seats and two Senate seats in Flathead County alone - are important in determining the makeup of the 2009 Montana Legislature. Remember the deeply divided 2007 Legislature that, narrowly split along party lines, had to return in a special session to finish its business? Voters have the chance to change or affirm the situation in Helena when they pick their legislators.

And there is, of course, the matter of deciding which U.S. senator - from Illinois or Arizona - will lead the country for the next four years. Whoever wins the presidential election can expect, from day one in office, to confront an almost unprecedented array of challenges: a U.S. financial meltdown, ongoing war in Iraq, depleted American standing in the world, rising challenges from rival superpowers and economic doldrums, just to name a few.

This is an important election for issues ranging from our back yard to the world. It behooves all of us - whenever we vote - to give careful thought to our choices.