How you count votes counts

Jim Hammond knows it is important to count every vote.

And to count as many ballots as possible – before the election staff breaks for a dinner of fish, chips, clam chowder, and coffee.

As the two partisan behemoths in our land clash over vote counting today, I want to take you back to an Election Day almost 30 years ago. It was Nov. 6, 1991, and I was at Post Falls City Hall covering the top municipal race in Kootenai County, the three-way battle for Post Falls mayor.

Hammond, the appointed mayor, was favored to win over challengers Buck Wilhelm and Charles Kupfer.

As newspaper deadlines approached, I and other reporters pressed for results. We were upset that the election workers at City Hall had taken a 45-minute dinner break before finishing the tabulation. Hammond insisted through an intermediary that City Clerk Marilyn Fehling provide preliminary results.

Finally, at 10:30 p.m., she did just that, without context.

Tally: Wilhelm, 219 votes, Kupfer, 108, and Hammond, 14.

Hammond was stunned for good reason. His decade on the council and appointment as mayor had yielded only 14 votes. The well-wishers at his planned victory party numbered far more than that.

Later, we learned about Marilyn’s system for hand counting votes. Her staff had arranged the ballots in three stacks, from the littlest one to the biggest. Then, her crew began counting the piles, littlest to biggest. Hammond had the biggest collection, 327 ballots.

But the counters had tallied only 14 ballots from Hammond’s stack before Fehling yielded to pressure.

As a result, I filed a front-page story for The Spokesman-Review, titled: “Wilhelm leads mayoralty race by wide margin.” It certainly wasn’t “Dewey Defeats Truman.” But, for these parts in those days, it was a major faux pas. Worst of all, Marilyn lectured me when I called to write a follow-up story the next day reporting Hammond’s easy win.

“That’s why you shouldn’t give preliminary figures when you hand count,” she said. “I knew the results wouldn’t give an accurate picture of the election.”

Hammond won re-election four years later. Afterward, he served as city administrator for Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene, sandwiched around a multi-term stint in the Idaho Senate.

But, for a few tense hours long ago, Hammond saw his future political ambitions slip sliding away.

Community standards?

Anna Heisey of Coeur d’Alene needed .380 shells for her Springfield 911 handgun. But she didn’t know where to find the cartridges. So she turned to Facebook, posting this message: “Has anybody seen any .380 ammo? Let me know. I want to buy some.” So far so good. Then, the post disappeared. And Anna received this note from Facebook: “The post doesn’t meet community standards.” She wondered what community the Facebook hirelings meant. Guns and ammo meet community standards anywhere in Idaho 24/7/365. Anna appealed the decision, indicating by a check mark that there was a misunderstanding. Twenty minutes later, she got notice that her appeal had been rejected. After scouring empty shelves in local businesses, Anna found some boxes at Black Sheep. P’haps the Facebook gods should visit Idaho, where, to misquote another chronicler, all the women are strong, the men are good looking, and everyone, including kids and pets, packs heat.

Huckleberries

• Poet’s Corner (April 27, 2003): We’re tourist friendly as can be/And let you park two hours for free,/But watch the clock while having fun,/Cause tickets come at two-oh-one — The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“CDA Parking”).

• Like many of us, Roger Garlock got so caught up in the presidential election that he forgot another traditional observance Tuesday: National Sandwich Day. The Republican poll worker tells Huckleberries he prefers classic ham and Swiss on rye with horseradish. Moi? A Reuben sandwich. Either fare beats the political baloney that we’ve endured this year.

• The only ones obeying the city’s new mask law on Sherman Avenue Monday morning were third- or fourth-graders, probably from Sorensen, who may have been walking to McEuen Park. Otherwise, it was business as usual in unmasked downtown Cd'A.

• With a packed parking lot and voters standing in line outside, the polling place at the Church of Christ wasn’t exactly neutral Tuesday. The church reader board supported a write-in candidate. It read: “God Bless America! But vote for Jesus. He keeps all His promises.”

Parting Shot

The Kellogg PD is on the prowl, looking for “deadheads.” But their hunt has nothing to do with the late Jerry Garcia and the legendary Grateful Dead. In KPD parlance, “deadhead” refers to vehicles that have no plates, expired plates and/or are in disrepair, including cars with flat tires. This, according to Sgt. Paul Twidt of the Roll Call report. And beyond deadheads? The KPD and Sgt. Paul would be grateful if residents remove RVs, trailers and boats from street parking. Why? The snowplow guys must get through. All of which means winter is on the way. Humbug.

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D.F. “Dave” Oliveria can be contacted at dfo@cdapress.com