Serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis. © James Conner.

 

3 October 2014

Flathead GOP plays Gotcha! — Democrat Schnebel may have been got

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Today’s InterLake reports the Flathead Republican Party claims Democratic county commissioner candidate Stacey Schnebel voted in Whitefish elections while living in Coram. That, the GOP said in a letter to Flathead County Attorney Ed Corrigan, violates Montana law.

Schnebel denied breaking election laws:

Schnebel issued a written statement Thursday morning, saying she is “flattered that the Republican Party is giving me this intense scrutiny.

“I am not an illegal voter and am confident that the County Attorney won’t find fault with my voting record,” Schnebel stated. “If anything, my voting record demonstrates that I perform my civic duty to vote. I find it interesting that my opponent will not engage in a public debate, and instead his party will take the frivolous tactic of trying to remove me from the ballot. Since we don’t have voter polls in Flathead County, I take this as an indicator that I am currently winning the race for county commissioner.”

A feisty statement, that, but it doesn’t necessarily rebut the GOP’s accusation. Schnebel says she’s “not an illegal voter,” and she’s entitled to the presumption of innocence. But I want to know whether she did indeed continue voting in Whitefish after moving to Coram, and if so, for how long and why. She knows the answers to those questions and should provide them forthwith.

According to the InterLake, the GOP knew where she voted and where she lived before the primary. Fair-minded voters will conclude the GOP had an obligation to release that information then instead of holding until just before the general election. Releasing it now, only days before early voting begins, after holding it for months, is Gotcha! politics — but it sure looks like the facts may have got Schnebel.

If that’s the case, the Flathead County Democratic Party didn’t fully vet its candidates — and Schnebel may not have been as forthcoming about her voting behavior as she should have been.

This needs to be resolved quickly. In the meantime, voters should consider not marking their ballots until the facts and legalities are established.