Well, the misery of Election 2014 will be over soon. I’ll be glad when my land line stops ringing at supper time, and am looking forward to ignoring Viagra ads again. But it’s not quite over yet. There’s several ballot measures worth discussing:
911 Dispatch Funding
First is a Flathead County referendum calling to authorize a $25 annual tax on every household and $50 for every business “unit” in Flathead County to support 911 dispatch center operations.
Now, how could 911 services possibly cost every household $25 per year? Well, just take a look at the police blotter. Given all the trivial and ridiculous calls made to the cops, perhaps the expense of 911 isn’t so amazing. Perhaps creating a means of fining callers who insist on wasting police time and resources on stupid stuff would be a better approach.
So, while I’ll vote for the funding, I sincerely hope this money will put the center on a sound, long-term basis – meaning this better be the last funding call for the center.
Constitutional Amendment 45 (CA-45)
Voters are being asked to approve changing the title of “state auditor” to that of “commissioner of securities and insurance.”
This constitutional referendum is little more than housekeeping. The issue is – Montana’s State Auditor really doesn’t directly audit anything. For example, Montana banks are audited by the Department of Administration, not the State Auditor. Instead, the state auditor is primarily in charge of regulating Montana’s securities and insurance businesses – basically, the non-banking financial sector. So, because the job title is wrong – AND in our state Constitution – fixing things requires fixing the Constitution.
The bill putting CA-45 before the voters initially passed 87-7 with seven Republicans opposed; in the Senate, was amended and passed 35-14 (with mostly Republican opposition but a few Dems sprinkled in), then the amended bill sent back to the House where it got one nay vote.
The opposition follows the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” line of reasoning, plus there are stacks of office letterhead paper that will have to be thrown out – but then again, it’s kind of silly to have an elected official whose constitutionally-mandated job title doesn’t describe the job.
Legislative Referendum 126 (LR-126)
This one has more political soap opera behind it. In short, we’re voting to move the voter-registration deadline from Election Day (which has been law since 2005) to 5 p.m. the preceding Friday.
Same-day registration (SB-302, sponsored by Jon Ellingson, D-Missoula) passed the 2005 Legislature by big bipartisan margins. On the surface, making voting easy seems a noble cause: Where is our electorate? Voter turnout stinks, shamefully so given how much blood has been spilled worldwide over the right to vote.
But the reality of same day registration in Montana was less than promised – long lines of late voters, especially (and not coincidentally) in the college towns, and slow confirmation of election results.
In the 2013 Legislature, Ted Washburn (R-Bozeman) introduced House Bill 30. Washburn’s bill was voted through the Legislature by starkly party-line vote margins, with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed. Governor Bullock (D) vetoed the bill.
The partisanship isn’t a coincidence. It’s a fact that Republican voters are more consistent voters than Democrats – and same-day registration has helped Democrats squeeze a few wins.
Because Bullock’s veto was expected, Senator Alan Olson (R-Roundup) floated SB-405, similar to Washburn’s, the difference being the issue would be “submitted to the qualified electors of Montana” and “effective upon approval by the electorate.” In short, a legislative referendum, which is not subject to Governor Bullock’s veto. Again, SB-405 passed on sharply party-line votes.
Partisanship aside, however, it seems to me that voting should require enough forethought and effort for voters to take the process seriously – for at least three days, anyway.
Waking up to one’s civic duty on Election Day afternoon (or, more likely, dragged off the dorm-room couch by a political “intern”) isn’t exactly the hallmark of an informed, engaged elector.
Sure, these couch surfers might guess right – but at worst, they cancel the vote of those who DID vote carefully – I’d prefer they’d just stayed on the couch.