Candlelight ousted as polling place

COEUR d’ALENE — Voters who cast their ballots on Election Day at Candlelight Christian Fellowship in Coeur d'Alene may soon have a new polling place.

Citing concerns about the church’s political activities, Kootenai County Commissioners Bill Brooks and Chris Fillios made a tentative decision Tuesday to change the polling location for precincts 403 and 405 from Candlelight to Community United Methodist Church.

Commissioner Leslie Duncan wasn’t present for the meeting.

Idaho law requires commissioners to designate the same polling place for the general election that it designated for the primary election, “insofar as possible.”

For that reason, commissioners will revisit the decision next week, pending an opinion from the county’s legal team.

Fillios suggested that political activities at Candlelight have contributed to divisiveness in the community.

“There is a great deal of concern over the hyperpartisan nature of the church,” he said. “I cannot support the continuance of Candlelight Christian as a polling location.”

The church hosts political candidates and makes political materials, such as leaflets and sample ballots, available to visitors.

Van Noy has maintained that Candlelight does not endorse candidates or causes as an entity, though the church hosts political events and has sometimes created a guide for voters.

During a regular Wednesday evening service in August, Van Noy urged his congregation to vote against the Coeur d’Alene School District’s levy, saying public schools “are on a mission to destroy your children.”

Last May, after Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin spoke to Candlelight attendees about her gubernatorial bid, Van Noy prayed on stage for her and endorsed her.

He later said he endorsed McGeachin as an individual, not as a pastor.

Bonner County resident Alicia Abbot said she’s met with voters in Kootenai County who believe Candlelight is an inappropriate polling place.

“Candlelight Christian Fellowship is not a space we can consider neutral and welcome to all,” Abbot said.

Some voters also contacted the Coeur d’Alene City Council ahead of the May primary election, expressing similar concerns about Candlelight.

Polling places must meet certain requirements, which limits how many facilities are suitable. They must be accessible to disabled voters, in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and they must have plenty of space for voters and poll workers.

Those requirements make churches, schools and municipal buildings popular spots.

Almost half of Kootenai County voters who cast ballots in person for the May primary election did so at a church.

In addition to 23 churches, the county also used 12 community centers, nine schools, five fire stations, two city halls, one library and one county building.