Kootenai County residents: Write your commissioners today
Updated: Oct 7, 2022
If you live in Kootenai County, please use the form below to send an email to the Kootenai County Commission supporting their tentative action to move a polling place from a hyper-partisan church to one more suited to hosting voters. Thank you, and please let your neighbors and friends know about this important vote.
You sent the following letter to the Kootenai County Commission:
Thank you for voting to tentatively move the polling place from Candlelight Christian Fellowship (CCF) to a more appropriate and safe location for the upcoming November 8 election. I hope you will support this decision at the upcoming commission meeting as well because CCF is not a safe or politically neutral space for Kootenai County citizens to cast their ballots.
I have seen plenty of evidence of hateful rhetoric and political proselytization from this church and do not think it is a fair place to cast our ballots. All you have to do is drive by the property:
- On September 24, 2022, CCF hosted “Freedom Fest” with the Kootenai Co. Republican Central Committee where only candidates supporting one ideology were welcome.
- On August 17, 2022 CCF Pastor Paul Van Noy asked his congregation to vote no on the recent school facilities levy. That levy failed.
- On June 7, 2022 CCF Pastor Paul Van Noy stated in a Coeur d’Alene City Council meeting that while the Council might not be able to discriminate against people, that he in fact could, advocating for only Christian invocations to be given at public meetings.
- During the summer months, CCF hosts a vendor in its parking lot that sells white supremacist and other hateful iconography and messages promoting violence. People passing the CCF on HWY 95 can see a row of flags on the frontage promoting racism and Christian nationalism.
There is no denying that the CCF is engaging in partisan political activity that may go against their nonprofit status as a church and that the images and slogans frequently displayed on their property are offensive to many Idahoans.
Please move this polling place to a place that is more conducive to the sacred duty of voting.
Thank you for your service to our community,