Item: Ysursa to tackle absentee ballot rules: Hoffman, Spencer fought ballot opening before Election Day/Jay Patrick, Idaho Reporter

More Info: This time around, Wayne Hoffman, executive director of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, took note and petitioned the Idaho Supreme Court on Nov. 1 to put a halt to ballot opening and to have justices declare that the action violated state statute 34-1008 governing the handling of absentee ballots. The code reads, in part,  “The ballot envelope shall not be opened until the ballots are counted.” Chief Justice Daniel T. Eismann dismissed Hoffman’s complaint, saying the court handled appeals of lower court rulings and could not consider it. Larry Spencer, a designated GOP poll watcher in Bonner County, also tried to stop the pre-election day opening with a petition to the district court there — the complaint was dismissed.

Question: Should the law be change to unequivocably allow early opening of absentee ballots?