note that Robin Benson has asked for an additional county employee because of increasing demands on the elections department. The story (TV News, March 8, 2023) reminded me of this email I received almost a year ago (it was forwarded to me):
From: Paula Buff <pbuff@libby.org>
Sent: Thursday, April 7, 2022 4:14 PM
To: Taralee McFadden <tmcfadden@libby.org>
Cc: Robin Benson <lcclerk@libby.org>
Subject: RE: election district lines
Hi Tara.
I talked to Pam today and gave her a link to my elections web map.
It is a great tool and pretty intuitive. Here is the link: https://lcplanning.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=08040ea8fe28444f9d6cf1cd9ee2a768
The layer list in the right hand corner will provide them with the ability to see where their school district boundaries lie and if they want to look up a specific address they just do a search in the left hand corner.
I would send them (or anyone who inquires for that matter) a link to this map.
Let me know if you need anything else.
Thanks.
Paula Buff
Lincoln County Election Administrator
512 California Ave.
Libby, MT 59923
P: 406-283-2302
Shortly after sending this, Tara resigned as School Superintendent – but note that Paula stated “I would send them (or anyone who inquires for that matter) a link to this map.” With that quote, and the fact that she is a public employee, I don’t see her as having any legitimate gripe about this published in the Ear.
Click the link, and see the massive amount of data she has shared with the world – then find the red dot that shows your address. It’s a great place if you want to find the land I own, my home phone number, etc. and then move directly to collect data on my neighbor.
I clicked one open spot to find the owner’s name, address, phone number, that she lived in a brick house with an electric fence. Now Paula didn’t include that her husband is well armed and a good shot – but the Elections Board page has more potential for misuse than I have realized yet.
A friend called the elections folks, and heard that they are legally required to post all of this. Couldn’t cite the codes – and I’m pretty sure there are federal laws protecting privacy that the map violates. I do know that Paula sees no problem in ignoring subsection 7 – and I’ve got the feel that she is ignoring several state and federal laws as she shares private information about voters on the internet.
If you have been treated the same as I, registering to vote will have your name, address, phone number, etc. published for the world to see, for the telemarketer to copy, for the Chinese to download.
If you have, it’s probably time to call the county commissioners and ask that the elections department staffing level be reduced – then they won’t have time to put your personal data on a public website. The county website is https://lincolncountymt.us/ but I can’t find the commissioners numbers listed on it. Perhaps the directory would be a better place to start.
Calling Robin Benson, the County Clerk, would likely be less than helpful . . . back when they left a box of ballots at the annex in Eureka, Ms. Benson described the handling of the election as “impeccable.” In the TV News she is quoted “I have complete and total trust in every single one of my staff, 100% without hesitation.” Her recorded statements make that level of confidence seem ungrounded.
Maybe it is time to start working for county 57. The rot in County 56 goes deep.
Trego's Mountain Ear 