Robert Daniel Pronovost -
Congratulations on your completion of
high school. We also would like to
congratulate you on your acceptance to
Stanford University. Way to go!
Love. Dad. Kim, Jeanele, Matthew.
George, Nicholas, and Joshua
To my husband, Chad Goodell -
Happy Father’s Day and many more
together and forever. I love you.
Love you for past, present, and
future, Christine
Happy Father’s Day, Dad. We love
you and hope you’re home soon.
Love, your Goodell Tribe, Ryan,
Chaz, Dooz, and Konners
Court, con't from page 1.
- how many votes each candidate
received. Petitioners made no
allegations that the vote count was
inaccurate (many tribal members kept
count when the vote was counted in
public on Feb. 2) and no evidence was
proven that it was inaccurate.
So how come the election director’s
first announcement of the number of
mail-in ballots was different than the
official certification (a difference of
12)? The answer has to do with the way
the election is run.
Mail-in votes started coming in on
Jan. 7, 2002, but the Enrollment
Department did not issue an official poll
book to the election director until Jan.
31,2002, three days before the election.
The poll book is issued this late to make
sure it is as accurate as possible - tribal
members dying, tribal members
registering to vote since the election
started, name or address changes, etc.
Since the election director did not
have an official poll book before
Jan. 31, however, he kept track of the
mail-in ballots received by keeping a
handwritten list of the ballots received
each date. He then transferred that
information (for 682 people) to the poll
book on the day before Election Day.
In keeping this handwritten list, the
election director used several different
numbering systems, skipped 10
numbers when he tried to change his
numbering system, and listed two or
three people twice on his list by
accident. All of these minor “errors”
were explained during the hearing and
the final numbers matched. No person’s
The Goodell Tribe would like
to wish Mark Hammett a Happy
Father’s Day!
Love Christine, Chad, Ryan, Chaz,
Dooz, and Konners
Happy Father’s Day, Chad. We love
and miss you; come home safely.
Love, Aunt Sheila, Breanna,
and Brittney
To Aunt (Uncle) Lenny - Happy
Father’s Day. We love you; you are the
best auntie/uncle we have.
Love, Sheila, Breanna, and Brittney
Happy Father’s Day, Darrin. Thank
you for giving me the most beautiful
girls, even when they’re as rotten
as you!
Love, Sheila
Happy Father’s Day, Papa. We
love you. Thanks for putting up
with us when we’re rotten and that’s
pretty often.
Love, Breanna and Brittney
Happy Father’s Day to our daddy,
Darrin Goodell. We love you with all
our hearts. Hope you have a great day.
Love you with all the stars, Breanna
and Brittney
vote was lost or ignored or not counted,
and no one voted twice.
b. Some tribal members voted
twice. This allegation primarily refers
to one family where five people have
the same name, except for different
middle initials and the use of junior or
senior at the end of the name.
The election director listed one of
these family members as having voted
by mail. That person came in to vote in
person on Election Day, at which time
the election director realized his
mistake, checked the mail-in ballot
received, and corrected his mistake.
One member of the family voted by
mail, a different member of the family
voted in person. No one voted twice.
Petitioners also pointed to two tribal
members whose names were listed
twice in the election director’s
handwritten list. He had written those
names down twice for a variety of
reasons. A check of ballot signature
envelopes, the registered voters log, and
the fact that the number of ballots exactly
matched the 682 different tribal
members who voted by mail, showed
that those persons did not vote twice.
c. Ballots were sent to un
registered voters, ballots were not
sent to registered voters, wrong dates
were entered, and persons were
improperly allowed to vote. This is a
miscellaneous category.
When the election director
transferred all of the information he had
To my little cousin, Derek
Simmons - Happy Father’s Day. I know
that baby isn’t here yet, but it’s close
enough. You’re going to be a great dad.
Love, Sheila, Breanna, and
Brittney
To my dad, Micheal Jordon - Happy
Father’s Day. I love you and thank you
for always being there when I need you.
Love, Sheila
been keeping since Jan. 7 about mail-
in ballots received over to the poll book
when he received that book on Jan. 31
(he had only Thursday and Friday to
transpose 682 names, and many more
members who were sent ballots did not
return them), he made “numerous”
minor mistakes, such as entering the
wrong date when the ballot was mailed
out or received, or entering information
on the wrong line and name.
In these cases, the election director
caught his errors and corrected them.
Petitioners argued that these corrections
“defaced” the poll book and made the
entire Tribal Council election invalid.
The Tribal Court rejected these claims.
Petitioners also complained about
attempts the election director made to
help people to vote, or in trying to make
sure that votes were counted whenever
possible. For example, it happens every
year that people return their mail-in
ballots without signatures. Up to the
last week of the election, the election
director returns these ballots to the
voters to write their signature and return
the ballot. Most people do return the
ballots; two did not.
Petitioners argued that it was illegal
for the election director to send these
incomplete ballots back to the voters
to complete them. The court ruled that
it was proper. Another example is that
a couple of tribal members submitted
ballots where their signature did not
quite match the card on file, or sent a
Floaters
by Eva E. Clayton
Ever watch wave action ?
A push pull combination.
Waves, spreading out over the sand,
white laced fingers massage the
beach, retreating.
Action, reaction again and again.
Mesmerizing energy, endless.
A wild spirit. A gently soothing
mirror reflection.
Constant wave movement brings
change. A relentless heartbeat,
like ancestral drums.
The goals to bring about a better life,
for many who count on the
commitment of a pounding surf,
need to get behind the wave.
Add to the push pull effect.
A de barked gnarled log floats to the
shore. A bit of sand blasting, sun
color, survives yet another journey.
We are like the gnarled log, we get a
bit weather worn, but we 're floaters.
Not looking for applause? Look
around you. If your spirit is right,
your heart humble, be glad you are a
part of a world that breathes life.
blank piece of paper with their signature
because they had lost the official form.
In each case, the election director
conferred with the Election Board and
confirmed from other documents that
the signature was accurate, and then
exercised his authority as election
director to count those ballots.
Petitioners argued that it was illegal to
count these votes. The Tribal Court
ruled that this was valid.
These
election
challenges
highlighted some of the inconsistencies
in the current Election Ordinance that
make the job of running the election
more difficult or allow people to
challenge a Tribal Council election on
technical grounds even when the
election was fair and the vote count was
accurate. I will review the Election
Ordinance in. the next few months and
make recommendations to the Tribal
Council to strengthen and streamline
that document. If you have any
proposed changes, I encourage you to
submit your comments to Tribal Council.
A copy of the 11-page court
decision can be obtained by sending a
written request to Dianne McLeod,
Tribal Court administrator, CTSI,
P.O. Box 549, Siletz, OR 97380.
June 2002
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Siletz News
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