Voting errors raise real concerns
Flathead County Democratic commissioner candidate Stacey Schnebel says the Republicans’ claim that she broke the law because she didn’t change her voter registration in a timely manner is nothing more than “a political stunt” meant to question her integrity.
Well it may be political, but that doesn’t mean the information that came to light recently isn’t relevant to voters who are making an important decision.
Schnebel moved from Whitefish to Coram in 2007, but continued to vote in Whitefish city elections until she registered her Coram address in 2012.
Republicans asked Flathead County Attorney Ed Corrigan to investigate and prosecute Schnebel for breaking a state election law, but Corrigan said this week the statute of limitations for a misdemeanor has expired in this case. He sent the complaint to the state Commissioner of Political Practices for further review.
While the Republicans’ timing of bringing the voter registration matter to the public eye certainly could be deemed a political maneuver, it’s hard to see how they could have ignored the matter once it had come to their attention.
What is not disputed is that Schnebel did, indeed, vote in Whitefish while living in Coram. And Schnebel herself pointed out that it wasn’t just the 2009 and 2011 elections during which she voted in Whitefish — it was six elections.
Some may shrug this off as not a big deal. She was a busy person, a young mother and businesswoman who just didn’t take the time to fill out the voter registration paperwork. She said if anything, it shows she performed her civic duty of voting.
It’s Schnebel’s further explanation that is troubling. Instead of taking full responsibility for the oversight, she’s blaming the various county and state agencies she dealt with because they never told her to update her voter registration. She also pointed the finger at Whitefish election judges who apparently verified her Coram address and still gave her a Whitefish ballot.
Her explanation for her actions is quite frankly lame, and it may have dug her a deeper hole in the mind of many voters. Most of us want candidates who follow the law — period. Blaming others for one’s own mistakes does speak to integrity, or lack thereof, and Flathead County voters have every right to consider this when making their choice.
Go pink for a good cause
Breast Cancer Awareness Month got off to a rousing start this year with the second annual Pink It Up run drawing an estimated 2,500 participants.
The non-timed 1k/5k race is Kalispell Regional Medical Center’s way to draw attention to the fight against breast cancer, as well as to raise funds in a fun way. Racers get plastered with pink powder as well as other colors at various check points along the course.
Of course the disease itself is serious business, so a large part of the publicity this month is aimed at encouraging women to take the steps to make it possible to detect the disease early when it is most easily fought. It should not be forgotten that men also on rare occasions are victims of breast cancer.
The Daily Inter Lake staff has already donned our pink shirts once this month, and we will do so again on Oct. 15 when we go pink with a front page ribbon and a special section inside dedicated to breast cancer awareness.
Learn more from the American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org
Editorials represent the majority opinion of the Daily Inter Lake’s editorial board.