Eyes on the polls

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Electioneering inside or out of a polling location is punishable with arrest, making one Hayden resident's experience at the polls a critical matter. 

For over 50 years, 74-year-old Dave Eubanks has voted on Election Day. On Tuesday, the Hayden resident joined thousands of voters at the polls to cast his ballot. 

About 11:15 a.m., Eubanks walked into Precinct 19 at the Maple Street Community Church. Inside were long tables with several workers waiting to help voters check-in, he said. On the left was Precinct 19, Eubanks' location, with about three female poll workers. 

The first worker was helping another female voter, so Eubanks went to the second in line. While checking in, Eubanks said he "happened to overhear the conversation" next to him between a poll worker and voter. 

"After verifying the woman's eligibility to vote, she (the poll worker) said, 'May I offer you some information on Critical Race Theory," Eubanks told The Press on Friday. "Then the poll worker turned around and pulled out a big stack of cards that looked like door hangers without a hole."

Bolded words on top of the card read "Critical Race Theory," he described. 

"The poll worker said, 'There's a lot of really important information you need to know on here," Eubanks continued. "I had never seen something like this at a polling place, let alone by a poll worker." 

After voting, Eubanks approached the poll worker to ask her about the conversation. She confirmed the card was about Critical Race Theory but argued it was not a "political" issue and was therefore allowed, Eubanks said.

"I said yes, it is. It is one of the hottest political topics in the country," Eubanks told The Press. "She said it has nothing to do with the election and 'I'll do whatever I feel like doing.'

"I said horse----, turned around, and walked out," Eubanks continued. "You can't disseminate anything as a poll worker other than information on how to vote." 

According to Eubanks, the female poll worker looked about 65-years-old, wore a "flat top party hat" and black-rimmed glasses. 

Per Idaho Code 18-2318, on the day of any election, no person inside or within 100-feet of a polling place can "do any electioneering." By statute, electioneering includes the circulation of "cards or handbills of any kind." 

Anyone found to be electioneering can be punished with a fine of up to $1,000 and arrested according to I.C. 18-2318. 

Kootenai County Clerk Jim Brannon told The Press Friday that he and other personnel visited roughly 20 precincts on Election Day to combat potential electioneering. However, they didn't check precinct 19. When told of Eubanks' experience, the elected official was furious. 

"If that is the case, that person will never work the polls again, period," Brannon said. "If people are handing out information about anything as a poll worker, that is not appropriate."

Residents who experienced or may have seen electioneering must file a formal complaint to Brannon, including specific details about the event.

"Poll workers are there to do a job, to issue the correct ballot and return them to me in the elections office," the clerk said. "They are not there to weigh in on anything, and I don't care if it is ice hockey. They're not there to do that." 

Eubanks is a former Coeur d'Alene School Board Trustee, Lakes Middle School teacher and educator for 43 years. He said he had "never seen anything like Critical Race Theory whatsoever taught in our schools." 

"I thought it was inappropriate with eyes all over the country on voting booths," he said. "This is simply not acceptable in America today. Not anywhere in this country." 

Besides the potential electioneering concern, Brannon said the municipal election was successful. 

He said that turnout was "huge" for an odd-year election, with about 35% of eligible voters casting their ballot. Number-wise, 34,950 of the 99,137 Kootenai County residents who could vote in the November election did. 

"We've never had that kind of turnout," Brannon said. "I attribute it to every race being contested and a lot of very engaged voters on both sides." 

Only individuals residing in districts with contested races could vote, Brannon explained. About 99,000 of the 103,000 registered voters in Kootenai County were eligible to vote on Tuesday.

Brannon also explained that some races had different ballot totals because the number of residents changed based on district.

"People are trying to compare school board votes to mayor votes," he said. "There are five school board members in Coeur d'Alene, and only three were up for election. So it would make sense if there would be fewer result votes for the school board than the mayor." 

One bump in the road, Brannon said, is when one of the ballot-counting machines crashed. However, it was back up and running soon after. 

"The election team and poll workers did wonderful work," he said.