Happy Friday! Let’s wrap up the week with these topics:

• Sticker Shock
• Former Right-Wing Pastor
• CI-126
• Talking Baseball

STICKER SHOCK:

The Electric reports that Cascade County officials spent the bulk of their Sept. 25 meeting discussing how to handle write-in ballots for the November election, specifically, pre-printed stickers with write-in candidates names.

It was reported that Election Systems & Software (ES&S) advised the election administrator that “stickers are the enemy” of the tabulators and “it’s not a question of if the stickers will cause problems, but just a matter of time” since they’ll “gum up the sensors and cause problems with the outstacking.”

I guess placing smiley stickers or stars on my ballot is not good either. 

Apparently, some MAGA people want all the ballots hand-counted, but that probably won’t happen. I hope they get the votes counted early, but if the stickers are put on the ballots it may be a very long night.

Check out the article from The Electric HERE. 

FORMER RIGHT-WING PASTOR:

One of my faithful readers pointed me toward this story from the Montana Fress Press (MTFP):

Jordan “J.D.” Hall, once a prominent religious and political figure in Montana right-wing circles, was ordered earlier this month to pay more than $15,000 to the Sidney church he once led after a Richland County District Court judge found him guilty of felony embezzlement. 

The MTFP also reported about his sentencing:

As part of a deferred sentencing agreement filed Sept. 10, Hall, who was ousted from Fellowship Baptist Church in 2022 amid claims of drug abuse, domestic violence and embezzlement, must also report to a probation officer and abstain from drugs and alcohol. He also may not own any weapons or enter bars or casinos, among other restrictions. If Hall complies with the terms of his three-year sentence, he will not be considered a felon.

Maybe another part of his sentencing should be that he “abstains” from politics. Hall seemed to have a strong following. It was reported that he regularly appeared before politicians in Helena and was pictured smiling alongside U.S. Sen. Steve Daines and Congressman Matt Rosendale, both Montana Republicans. How precious! 

You can read the full report from the MTFP HERE.

CI-126:

I saw on the Next Door app that several people in Great Falls received a mailer about CI-126. 

I received a mailer, too. Here are the FRONT and BACK. 

Here is what CI-126 does:

CI-126 is a constitutional citizen initiative that creates an open primary election so that all candidates of all parties appear on the same ballot in June and all voters can choose between them. The top four candidates, regardless of party, would then move on to the November election. (Source) 

I doubt the political parties support it, so that is one of the reasons I do support CI-126. I like that there will be more competition, and open primaries give us better choices. 

I hope my readers research CI-126 and join me in supporting it. 

You can visit their website HERE. 

TALKING BASEBALL:

There are only three games left in the 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) regular season. 

According to MLB.com, the postseason is scheduled to run from the start of the Wild Card Series on Tuesday, Oct. 1, to a potential Game 7 of the World Series as late as Saturday, Nov. 2. (Source)

My Kansas City Royals are holding on to one of the wildcard spots as of today. 

The Chicago White Sox won’t be in the playoffs. They have lost 120 games. Right now they are tied with the 1962 Mets for most losses in a season in the modern era (1900-today).

## HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND ##