Vote Tuesday for ‘3 to 5’ or ‘5 to 3’
Special Election on May 8, 2012
by Joy Ufford, editor@subletteexaminer.com
May 2, 2012
PINEDALE – The Sublette Examiner got a call stating people are confused about whether or not they need to "vote again" if they voted in the August 2011 special election – for or against changing the Sublette County Commission seats back to three, or to stay at five.
Voters who care about the outcome of this election should do their best to vote on May 8 or via absentee ballot before May 7 at 5 p.m.
• This is a new, completely separate election. This upcoming election results from a petition signed and gathered, then certified by Sublette County Clerk Mary Lankford. She set the election date of May 8 as soon as the signatures were counted in her office and yielded enough to call an election to return to three seats from the previously elected five seats.
• Those five county commission seats have not been filled; county attorney Neal Stelting and Lankford have determined that state law supports the position that the additional two seats do not need to be filled yet to proceed with this election. Stelting has not requested the state attorney general’s opinion and he is the only Sublette official who can do that. State officials have declined to get involved in what they deem is a local issue.
• The answer is this: If you care about the outcome of this election, whether you want three or five commissioners, then you need to vote on May 8. This election is a new one, replacing or maintaining the special election on this issue last August.
• The ballot has two boxes: one "for" going back to three commissioners from the five seats voters approved last year, and one "against" changing from five to three commissioners. If you want three commissioners, check the "for" box. If you want five commissioners, check the "against" box.
• The county clerk’s office phone system apparently was down on Tuesday, May 1, and Wednesday, May 2, leaving callers seeking absentee ballots unable to speak to someone in person. The absentee ballots are available at the clerk’s office in the Sublette County Courthouse in Pinedale and must be returned by Monday, May 7, at 5 p.m.
• If the county clerk’s office does not answer (307-367-4372), call another county office, for example the treasurer’s office (307-367-4373) and ask to be transferred to the county clerk’s office.
• Otherwise, if you want to vote on Tuesday, May 8, between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and you are not already registered, you can register before you vote with a picture ID and proof of county residency.
The following are your polling places for this special election:
Pinedale 1-1: Wrangler Gym, The Commons, Pinedale.
Pinedale West 1-3: Wrangler Gym, The Commons, Pinedale.
Boulder 1-4: Boulder Community Center.
Big Piney 2-1: Marbleton Senior Center.
Marbleton 2-2: Marbleton Senior Center.
Cora 4-1: Kendall Valley Fire Hall.
Daniel 4-2: Daniel Community Center (Daniel Schoolhouse).
Bondurant 5-1: Bondurant School.
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