Otter and Balukoff: Yup, they’ve voted

Here’s a twist on the now-familiar story about candidates’ voting records: a story of two candidates who do vote. And regularlyI voted.

Republican Gov. Butch Otter hasn’t missed a general election or primary since 2006, the oldest records available through the Ada County elections office.

Democratic challenger A.J. Balukoff’s record is almost as flawless. He has voted in every primary and general election in Ada County since 2006, except for the May 2012 primary.

Idaho Education News has asked the Balukoff campaign to explain this missing vote; the campaign did not have an immediate comment Tuesday.

What’s more, it appears the candidates’ voting records go beyond basic voting in primaries and November elections.

Both candidates voted in May 2007, when Ada and Canyon county voters agreed to create the College of Western Idaho, the state’s newest two-year college.

Otter voted in May 2011, when voters in his West Ada School District rejected a supplemental levy. He voted in 2012 and 2014 elections, when West Ada patrons approved levies, and in August when voters rejected West Ada’s $104 million bond issue.

Balukoff, a Boise School Board trustee, voted in March 2012, when patrons OK’d a five-year supplemental levy.

Voting records have been more of an issue in the state superintendent’s race, with the news that Republican candidate Sherri Ybarra has failed to vote in at least 15 elections since moving to Idaho.

 

Kevin Richert

Kevin Richert

Senior reporter and blogger Kevin Richert specializes in education politics and education policy. He has more than 30 years of experience in Idaho journalism. He is a frequent guest on "Idaho Reports" on Idaho Public Television and "Idaho Matters" on Boise State Public Radio. Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KevinRichert. He can be reached at [email protected]

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