Absentee ballots to be mailed Friday

COEUR d'ALENE - The first round of absentee ballots will be in the mail Friday, officially kicking off the 2014 general election season.

"We will get our first delivery of ballots (today)," said Kootenai County Elections Manager Carrie Phillips.

Once they arrive, Phillips said she will publish sample ballots on the county's elections website.

On Friday, the first round of ballots will hit the mail, and daily mailings will occur until Oct. 30.

"So far, we have 2,330 ballot requests to mail out," she said Tuesday, adding the number will likely continue to climb this week. "With this being a general election the numbers will be higher."

Phillips said the 2010 general election had a 58 percent turnout and 18 percent of the votes were absentee ballots.

County voters can still request absentee ballots until 5 p.m., Oct. 29.

To request a ballot, voters can go into the elections office at 1808 N. Third St. in Coeur d'Alene to fill out the request form, or download a form from the elections website at www.kcgov.us/elections.

The request form must be returned in person or by mail, email or fax. Those addresses and the fax number are printed on the request form.

For those who want to vote in person before the election, early voting in the elections office will start in mid-October, Phillips said.