The Courier
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News from the Heart of Idaho Camas • Lincoln • Gooding
April 15, 2020
Vol 44 Num 16
Voting From Home A Bad Idea for a Good Reason?
Camas Prairie Historical Monument on Johnson Hill
from Jack Varin Perhaps no other time is the grandeur of the Camas Prairie greater than in the spring. As one drives across the Prairie there is a sense of promise and memory of the people who do and have called the Prairie home. The History of the Prairie is truly remarkable from both a geologic, natural and historical context. The first inhabitants of the Prairie came in the spring to enjoy its bounty. Across the years many, many others have come to enjoy and make the Prairie their home. The turn out on Johnson Hill has beaconed all to come and behold the sight of the Sky, the Mountains, the vastness of the Prairie. As I drove across the Prairie last Wednesday to see how the work on the Johnson Hill Historical Sign site was going, I was overcome with the beauty of the Prairie as well as the memory of the many people who called the Prairie home. I saw the big red barn at Beulah Baldwin’s and thought about the ranchers and farmers, then by the Manard School Monument on Frostensen corner. Then I remembered the early Manard community who developed the Manard town site that I soon drove by. I recalled that there were many communities on the Prairie where people lived and thrived, even in the hard times. Next I drove on across the new bridge on Camas Creek and remembered the first inhabitants, the Indians, who came in large numbers to harvest the bounty of the Prairie. I also recalled the explorers and trappers and how they must have been taken with the beauty and aliveness of the Prairie. When I arrived at the Johnson Hill turn out, I thought how it is a mystical place for all to come and behold the sight of the Sky, the Mountains, the vastness of the Prairie and remember the people. Now, a monument is being constructed that will help all know and remember the uniqueness of the Camas Prairie and the many people who have called it home. Soon the Historical Sign will be placed that will help all who come to see and try to grasp the grandeur of this place and its people.
This year, voting from home has become a necessity. If you haven’t done so already, you need to make your request for an absentee ballot online, by contacting your county clerk, or check your local post office for application forms. You have until May 19th to apply, but don’t wait. Do it today! These new vote-from-home rules are only in place for the State Primary Election, but there may be similar rules put in place for the November General Election. In fact, there is a desperate effort by certain political groups to use the current “crisis” to make voting from home the norm for all elections. President Trump is very much opposed to this idea because of his concern for voter fraud. While many in the media are quick to pooh-pooh this concern, voting by mail has been irrefutably established as a gateway for fraudulent voting. Of course, the risk of fraud depends on the election rules of each state (some states are better than others). Perhaps the bigger concern with making voting from home the norm is that supporters of this idea also want to move away from paper ballots to on-line voting. This would save a considerable amount of money. But, if we have learned anything over the last several years (Russian meddling, the Clinton computer server, Ukrainian shenanigans, Facebook & Google), putting our elections on-line is the last thing we want to do. There is, however, one other thing to consider: who really benefits from wholesale voting-at-home? In general, Democrats want more vote-from-home, Republicans want to keep in-person-voting. Voting in person at your polling location is far safer - if you want fraud-free elections - but people who vote at home might be better voters. Absentee voting is meant for individuals who can not get to their polling location due to disability, military service, or other reasons. Yet, many individuals like voting absentee because it helps them be more involved and educated about the decisions they make. It is a sad fact that many voters are woefully uninformed or deceived about the world we live in. They vote for what “feels” good or the candidate who offers them the most benefits (money). Some just vote for a letter. Don’t be that kind of voter.