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In Bonner County, our votes are secure and they count.

At each election there are three to six volunteers working at my polling station at Gamlin Lake. They check my name on the roster of registered voters, and give clear directions to complete my ballot. Then I place my ballot in a closed sleeve and give that to a poll worker who empties the sleeve into a secure ballot box. It still give me goosebumps to hear a poll worker announce my name and that I’ve voted.

After polls close, two or more workers deliver that secured ballot box to our county clerk’s office. As ballot boxes arrive, workers diligently record the polling site and number of ballots. Ballots are then, with a full cadre of staff and observers, processed through a scanner. If there is a write-in candidate, the new voting software separates these into a separate batch to be reviewed by our resolution board comprised of two to four people, from different parties. This process is done on a big screen for everybody to watch and confirm how each ballot was resolved.

My husband and I were part of that team, into the wee hours, for the 2006 election. Those votes are now automatically added to the final voting report. What I want to share is that — to a person — elections here are treated like the sacred trust they are.

There are local, county, and state legislative candidates who deserve your vote. They could make our county and state a better place. Your vote matters and it will be counted.

JUDY MEYERS

Sagle