Long lines worth the wait for many Flathead voters

Flathead Valley voters headed to the polls early Tuesday morning to cast their ballots. By 9 a.m., the line at the Flathead County Election Department stuffed the hallways and zigzagged outside of the new facility, holding eager voters at bay in the morning sun.

One of those in line was Niles Bauer, a Montana native who recently moved back to the Treasure State after 25 years in Colorado.

“I’m very excited to vote,” he said. “We’ve got good candidates here. They really, in my view, care about Montana and what people think.”

Some came to vote for candidates that generally excited them, while others were more pessimistic.

“It’s been a little bit of a circus,” said Jason Turner. “It’s a little scary with everything that’s going on with Russia, especially with the emails.”

Issues driving people to the polls were both specific and broad: Ralph Walters said he came to support ballot Initiative 182, rolling back regulations on the medical marijuana industry, while Rachel McManus had her family in mind while filling her ballot.

AT THE Flathead County fairgrounds, the waiting time was tame by early afternoon. Only one line had built up for precinct 6, which covers most of north Kalispell, although people in line had to wait only a half hour to cast their vote.

Rick Breckenridge, the Libertarian candidate for Montana’s lone congressional seat, was on site waving party signs at drivers passing by on North Meridian Road. Breckenridge joined the race late after the unexpected death of Libertarian candidate Mike Fellows in September.

He doesn’t expect to win given his recent polling numbers, but said he hopes the Libertarian Party gains traction with voters as an outside-the-system option.

“I had nothing to lose so I threw everything on it,” he said. “The two-party system has cost us a trillion in wars. We need a paradigm. That’s what the Libertarian Party can offer, and I think the Libertarian Party is a solution.”

When the fairgrounds polls opened at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, precinct 5 voters were met with a delay when the county elections department misprinted the precinct’s federal general election book. Election volunteer Suzy Ossit said the book cover was printed correctly, but inside was a list of voters in a different district. The elections department reprinted the correct book by 8:30 a.m. and Ossit said the remainder of the morning ran smoothly.

“People were pretty patient, some even came back,” she said.

Outside, Jeff Eayrs said he wasn’t exactly excited about any candidate this year, but would be voting for the candidates that matched his “Biblical and moral views for the country.”

“I’ve got the freedom to vote and I’m really glad to do it,” he said.

AT COLUMBIA Falls High School, Chief Election Judge Leland “Wally” Walbruch said voting numbers in precincts 35 and 21 were way up from previous years. He suspected the presidential and gubernatorial races had stirred a number of voters not seen in the previous election.

At Bethany Lutheran Church in Bigfork, precinct 38 was also seeing an inflow of new voters.

“They stood in line for at least half an hour,” Chief Election Judge Deanna Conley said. “I think the percentages will be really good; I think it was the presidential and governor’s elections.”

Both polling places had to turn away a few dozen potential voters hoping to register to vote there. Walbruch said he had to turn many people toward Kalispell to register at the county election office and encouraged them to simply vote there, if they could outlast the wait lines.

Of those that were registered and ready to vote, many said it was one of the most hostile elections they had seen. Regardless of the barbs tossed back and forth this election cycle, people were still looking forward to casting their vote.

“It’s been way more aggressive,” Columbia Falls voter Matthew Hensley said. “But it’s a big election. If I don’t vote, I don’t have a reason to complain.”

“We get what we get,” Bigfork voter Bill Morton said. “I believe this is going to be a turning point, not only national but at the state level. It could change or it could be business as usual.”

Morton added that the Electoral College makes his vote more of a formality, but “I always vote. It’s one of the few things I have left.”

AN HOUR before polls closed, voters at the Flathead County Election office reported waits of up to two hours, 45 minutes. Voters who opted to register the same day as the election had to register at the office.

Mikel Knutson, 18, of Hungry Horse thought he registered in October, but his information had not been updated when he got to his polling place. Knutson opted to drive to Kalispell to register and cast a ballot in his first election. He said the nearly three-hour wait was worth it to vote in his first election.

“This is important,” Knutson said. “It’s only one vote, but it all contributes to shaping the future of our state and country… That’s worth the wait.”

Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.