Tagged: elections

Posted: October 5, 2010 at 7:41 am

Cool New Voter Info, Ballot Tracking Site

How cool is this? For the first time in Montana, voters can access voter information and track their ballots online.

Montana ballots were mailed out yesterday. If you vote by mail, you can now check to make sure your ballot arrives and is counted. Montana Secretary of State Linda McCulloch’s new website, launched this week, also tells you your precinct location and polling place in case you’re someone who wants the fun of voting in person on Election Day. The service can be found at https://app.mt.gov/voterinfo. All you have to do is type in your name, birth date and house number to access the information.

I’m guessing this will come in really handy for those making GOTV (get out the vote) calls to help voters find out where they need to go and what they need to do – there is even a map to the polling place right there at your fingertips.

The site also tells you your state Senate district, House district, precinct and precinct location.
Speaking of Secretary McCulloch’s neat tech advancements, now would be a good time to sign up for her twitter updates, so that you’ll be the one with the latest scoop on election night, while everyone else is crowded around a laptop that won’t load or waiting for the TV news to come on, you’ll have the scoop. (Your friends will be jealous.) Go to http://twitter.com/sosmcculloch to follow Linda.

Posted: August 4, 2010 at 12:34 pm

More problems with Sanders County Republican Central Committee actions

One of this blog’s favorite and most astute sources kindly pointed out that according to the minutes of the Sanders County Republican Central Committee referenced below and online here, as recorded by Republican Representative Pat Ingraham, the committee appears to have decided to illegally contribute to a non-partisan office race at that meeting, the non-partisan campaign of Nels Swandal for Supreme Court.

In what as known as the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices “Pink Book” Page 9 it says, “Another important distinction of a political party Committee is that it ‘may not endorse, contribute to, or make an expenditure to support or oppose a judicial candidate.’ [13-35-231, MCA]”

Excerpts from the official minutes:

Judy Woolley brought up the visit to the community by Supreme Court Candidate Judge Nels Swandal who is a conservative. Bob Zimmerman moved that the party send Judge Swandal the maximum campaign contribution allowed by law, seconded by Greg Hinkle, discussion followed. When asked why Bob wasn’t at the Thompson Falls meeting for Judge Swandal, Bob Zimmerman withdrew his motion. Pat Legard moved to reinstate Bob Zimmerman’s previous motion to give Supreme Court Candidate Judge Swandal the maximum campaign contribution allowed by law, seconded by Greg Hinkle; the motion carried.

And the screenshot.

Posted: July 12, 2010 at 7:59 pm

“Called by God”…but having trouble raising campaign funds

After the post below about self-proclaimed “RINO-tarian” Derek Skees, I received a fundraising email from a former Skees supporter in which Skees reveals his belief that he was “called by God” to elected office.

Since Skees doesn’t say whether he got “the call” from a cell or land line, we have to assume it was just like Moses in front of the burning bush. Skees’ email is pasted below in it’s entirety:

Subject: Help me Help you
From: derekskees@gmail.com
To: derekskees@gmail.com

Hello friends,

I am embarased to ask this, yet times are getting desperate. As most of you know, I am running for election in HD 4. I have a 3 way primary race ending by the middle of May, and I am having a tough time raising funds. I feel called by God to help this Great State return to affluency, and reign in the littany of Government abuses.I am giving all of my Time, Talent and Treasure to this cause and ask for any measure of yours you can give.

Please help me in whatever way you can to make this a better place. You can visit my website, and see if my positions are worthy of your support.
If they are, please contribute. http://derekskees.com/

I will not continue this solicitation of your support, and I am sorry to violate your privacy with my problems. I have been, and will continue to aggresively work to get to Helena and try to fix the probems with our government.

I just need a little help.

Thank you, and God Bless America.

Derek Skees [bold emphasis mine]

So if it was the will of God that Skees get elected to the legislature— as opposed to the will of the people he is campaigning to represent — how does Skees explain his desperate lack of campaign donations?

I wish I would say that Skees is unusual in the belief that he has been called by God to enter politics, but the sad truth is that this view is far too common with “the right.” One example is the Montana GOP favorite but nationally embattled Republican Michael Steele. Steele was caught on video claiming that God wanted him to be RNC chair.

Before you start questioning God and “his plan” in light of this new information, a quick review of the problems Skees’ views and behavior will cause him (such as wearing a confederate flag in the Flathead Memorial Day parade) show that, sure enough, Skees is proving to be the answer to the prayers of local Democrats.

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