...AIR STAGNATION ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 PM MST
FRIDAY...
* WHAT...An extended period of stagnant air, with light winds
and little vertical mixing.
* WHERE...Portions of south central, southwest and west central
Idaho and northeast and southeast Oregon.
* WHEN...Until 1 PM MST Friday, and this time may be extended.
* IMPACTS...Periods of air stagnation can lead to the buildup of
pollutants near the surface.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Winds will be strong enough today,
Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons in portions of the Upper
Treasure Valley and Western Magic Valley to limit stagnation.
However, parts of the zones will experience stagnant air and
were therefore included in this advisory.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
An Air Stagnation Advisory concerns itself with meteorological
conditions only. For more information on air pollution in Idaho,
visit website www.deq.idaho.gov. For Oregon, visit website
www.oregon.gov/deq.
If possible, reduce or eliminate activities that contribute to
air pollution, such as outdoor burning, and the use of
residential wood burning devices. Reduce vehicle trips and
vehicle idling as much as possible.
&&
Voters wait in line outside a polling place at the O’Connor Field House in Caldwell to cast their ballot on Tuesday, May 17.
The Idaho Secretary of State’s office updated vote counts from Teton County on Thursday, after the county discovered one ballot box had not been processed. But the vote total did not change the outcomes of any state races, according to Deputy Secretary of State Chad Houck.
Teton County, which is in eastern Idaho, reported Wednesday that during its pre-canvass review and reconciliation process, the elections director discovered a discrepancy between early voting ballots that were issued versus what was received. The difference was 402 votes.
Houck said the elections staff quickly notified the Idaho Secretary of State’s office that one of the ballot boxes still had its original seal and had not been processed.
“Before they did anything, at that point they called us and said, ‘We have a problem,’” Houck said.
He advised the office to leave the box untouched until representatives from the Republican and Democratic parties and candidates who might be affected by the new count could be present. At 4 p.m. Wednesday, the elections office invited members of the public and party representatives to the box opening and streamed the event on Zoom. An affidavit placed in the box while it was still empty was located at the bottom of the box when it was opened, confirming it had not been tampered with, Houck said. That procedure is outlined in Idaho Code and the Idaho Secretary of State’s directives.
Houck said the uncounted box, and a tabulation error in Jerome County that led to a candidate’s outcome being reversed, are both good examples of why election night results are considered unofficial.
“There are checks and balances in place to make sure things don’t inadvertently get missed,” Houck said.
The Secretary of State’s office will also randomly select eight counties for a comprehensive election audit, as required by statute. Teton County has volunteered to be one of the eight counties audited, according to a press release from the county.
