Tag: election 2014

Voter faces challenges in western ND: Glitch prevents former Dickinson man from voting

A glitch in North Dakota’s polling system prevented a former Dickinson resident from voting Tuesday in the general election, the Secretary of State’s office said Wednesday.

Kyle Thiel moved from Dickinson to Bismarck in August. When he did so, he updated his address on the state Department of Transportation website. However, Thiel did not change his driver’s license, which still says he lives in Dickinson. His change of address online should have been enough to allow him to vote, said Lee Ann Oliver, an election specialist with the Secretary of State’s office.

“He did what he was supposed to do,” she said.

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Clean Water, Wildlife and Parks Amendment advocates used South Dakota images on ads

Submitted Photos
At top is the North Dakota Clean Water, Wildlife and Parks ad with the slogan “Our natural heritage makes North Dakota special.” At bottom is a photo from iStock titled “Badlands National Park — South Dakota.” Opponents of the measure criticized advocates for using the South Dakota Badlands instead of the North Dakota Badlands.

Images of the wrong state’s Badlands were used on a direct mail advertisement paid for by the proponents of North Dakota’s Measure 5, the Clean Water, Wildlife and Parks Amendment that would funnel millions of dollars in oil tax revenue toward enhancing outdoor recreation and conservation efforts.

The ad, paid for by North Dakotans for Clean Water, Wildlife & Parks, was sent to addresses throughout the state last week promoting “North Dakota heritage.” It features two photos taken in the South Dakota Badlands, according to numerous online image searches.

Steve Adair, Ducks Unlimited’s director of operations for the Great Plains Region and spokesman for North Dakotans for Clean Water, Wildlife & Parks, stated in an email Tuesday that the photos were incorrectly labeled by a stock photo vendor.

“Yes, we made a mistake, and used the photo provided to us by our vendor,” Adair wrote. “It is the North Dakota way to fess up to a mistake and we are doing that. … This is just more grasping at straws by our opponents to divert the people of North Dakota from the real issues of how are we going to maintain our clean water, recreation and world class fish and wildlife resources in the face of such drastic changes.”
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The difference between ‘want’ and ‘need’ in North Dakota

Growing up, my family taught me about needs and wants. If we went to the store and I saw a toy I wanted, my parents would ask me, “Do you really need that toy, or do you just want it?” Of course, usually I just wanted it. And why not? Someone else was paying for it. The trouble was, I also needed new pants, underwear or necessary school supplies. So, my parents’ money went to those things instead and, if I was lucky, I got the toy at Christmas or on my birthday.

The moral is that you can’t always have a toy simply because you want it. Sometimes, you need the essentials and, if you’re patient, eventually you’ll get what you really want.

This seems to be the case with Measure 5, commonly known as the Clean Water, Wildlife and Parks Amendment. Over the past few months, a rhetoric of Utopian promise from proponents, apocalyptic fear from opponents and half-truths from both sides have made this measure one of the North Dakota’s most-watched campaigns of the 2014 election.

In short, Measure 5 would devote 5 percent of the state’s oil extraction taxes toward conservation spending.

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Debate a taste of races

I had a front-row seat to debates for two of North Dakota’s most hotly contested elected positions on Thursday night, serving as the timer for U.S. House and agriculture commissioner debates while Press Publisher Harvey Brock moderated the event sponsored and organized by the North Dakota Newspaper Association on the opening night of its annual convention at the Radisson hotel in Bismarck.

These debates weren’t so much about who won and lost as they were an opportunity for the candidates to feel each other out on stage, establish talking points and set the tone for what will likely end up being the state’s two closest races of the year.

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Democrats can’t afford to wait for candidates

The way things are shaping up, western North Dakota’s legislative elections are going to be one-horse races.

There is a little more than two weeks remaining until the April 7 filing deadline for party candidacy in the 2014 election and the Democrat-NPL party hasn’t had a single person announce their candidacy in western North Dakota’s five legislative districts — including the three that encompass much of The Dickinson Press’ coverage area.

If for nothing else than the sake of democracy, North Dakota Democrat’s need to get candidates lined up in the west and get them on the campaign trail.

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