By Jim Stanford on October 26, 2012
President Obama casts his ballot yesterday, becoming the first president to vote early.
It’s 19 degrees as I type, with a coat of fresh snow on the ground. So I’m jealous of all those packing for tropical locales, or even the desert.
But don’t forget to cast your ballot before leaving town. Complete voting information is available here.
Anyone may register and vote between now and Election Day by visiting the Teton County clerk’s office at 200 S. Willow St. (corner of Simpson and Willow). The office is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
To request an absentee ballot be sent to you, email elections@tetonwyo.org or call 307-733-7733. No ballots will be mailed after Oct. 30.
Posted under Politics
Does anyone know how to find out about the records of District and Circuit Court Judges on the ballot? I can’t find any research online and have to fill in absentee ballot asap. I’m stumped on that and some of the other Non-Partisan jobs such as Supervisors for Conservation District. Thanks.
Amely, your best bet would be the News&Guide, maybe Jim, otherwise a Freedom of Information act request
I wish I could be of more help. It’s too bad the News&Guide waits until the last week before publishing its Election Section; a lot of people already have voted or will be out of town by Nov. 6. On the constitutional amendments, I generally am leery of the proposals Wyoming legislators throw on there.
Voted yesterday. Very friendly people working down there, had a good time. Off to the desert. Good luck Jim, hope you post some results here on the 6th/when announced.
Amely, what do you want to know? I can probably answer your questions. Judge Day and Judge Radda are the judges you should primarily concern yourself with as they sit in Teton County. The other judges are in Fremont and Sublette counties. They occasionally hear cases in Teton County but not very often. My general opinion is yes on Judge Day and no on Judge Radda.
http://www.wyomingbar.org/2012_advisory_poll.html
Here is the info you’re looking for on judges.
Thanks; Woolly – wd you care to share why you say no on Judge Radda? The link above shows the % approval on all of them. I guess my question is wanting to know any issues in terms of evaluating them.
Amely – the rap on Radda right now is mostly courthouse chatter. Radda is still fairly new on the bench and time will tell. But there does appear to be a consistent defendants’ leaning from his bench. Example: Carmichael the (ok, alledged) girlfriend beater. The public defender demanded massively lowered bail for him, despite the preliminary hearing evidence that he was indeed a danger and incarceration with higher bail was justified. Radda agreed with the public defender and let him go. Weichman and his staff were flabbergasted (the public, too). Carmichael was eventually re-arrested and bail reset. But juxtapose this with the jail roster full of drunks who appear to be held indefinitely. Wyoming has a good system of not electing, but appointing judges from a short list of applicants presented to the governor. Then, every four years the public can vote to retain or not retain. It requires the public to pay attention to each judges actions, not easy with our busy lives. Most people don’t pay attention to county commission or town council proceedings let alone a judge’s docket. Teton County does have a history of not retaining judges, ie Bob Brodie and Terry Rogers. Maybe Judge Radda just needs more time; he’ll likely survive the vote, this time.
Well put.
I sharply disagree that there is a consistent leaning towards defendants from Judge Radda’s bench. For the most part, and the Carmichael case is an obvious departure, Radda has been very pro-prosecution, certainly more so than his predecessor. I do agree with Brad’s juxtaposition regarding holding people in jail for exceedingly long periods based on relatively minor alcohol offenses- in reality, that’s what has been consistent. The conclusion that should be drawn is that Judge Radda doesn’t have the perspective to accurately grasp the issues with which he is faced. That’s the only way to explain how a dangerous person accused of a very serious violent crime (Carmichael) gets out of jail, while low level alcohol offenders languish in custody. Certainly there is a learning curve for a new judge, but the frustrating thing with Judge Radda is that his decisions appear less reasonable today than they did when he first took the bench over two years ago.
Here’s an online version of the News&Guide Election Section that’s comprehensive and easy to read. It covers judicial retention and constitutional amendments.
http://issuu.com/jhnewsandguide/docs/general_election_2012