Here comes your election information

If you read no further, then please note this:

208-446-1030

Voters, that’s an important telephone number for you. It will connect you with the Kootenai County Elections Office, where staff are ready to answer your questions weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Not sure how to get an absentee ballot? Where to vote on Election Day? What your ballot is going to look like? Check out https://www.kcgov.us/31/Elections or call 446-1030.

Now, speaking of questions, we’ve got a bunch of those — and answers — headed your way.

In Saturday’s editions of The Press, readers will receive a copy of the May 17 Kootenai County GOP Voters Guide. With the almost complete absence of contested Democratic Party races in this fair land, the guide focuses on contested Republican races from the county level through Idaho Legislature into state constitutional offices and U.S. senator.

We’re pleased to report that almost every candidate in these contested races filled out our questionnaires and included important background information as well. We’ve never published a more thorough voters guide for a primary election, even though this one includes one party and a nonpartisan judicial race. Democrats have struggled to fill their party tickets competitively and the winners of Republican primaries around here are virtually guaranteed of winning again come November.

A note about the voters guide: Candidates were told to limit answers for each question to 250 words. Most did that beautifully. Some disregarded it completely. In one case, a candidate used more than 1,000 words to answer one question. Wherever that rule was broken, we have indicated that the candidate exceeded the word limit so their response was not included.

Before anyone claims “fake news” or biased editing, be assured that we did not edit anybody’s answers. We told each candidate when we contacted them that their answers would be published unedited, and we’ve kept that promise. What you will see tomorrow is exactly what we received.

The guide is landing in your hands early because many of you will be voting absentee. If you’re voting in person on May 17 and are worried that you’ll misplace or recycle tomorrow’s paper before then, fear not. We’ll insert the guide again closer to Election Day.

Press subscribers who wish to endorse one or more candidates still have time to do so. Send your endorsement letter of 250 or fewer words to mpatrick@cdapress.com. Again, this is a service available to Press subscribers only. The deadline for all endorsement letters is Sunday, May 8 at 5 p.m.

Meantime, we've already conducted a slew of local candidate interviews, including a forum recorded Monday night. Check them all out on cdapress.com — click on Meet the Candidates.