Good turnout expected in today's election

The results of weeks of political campaigning are about to be known.

Election season comes to a head today as voters decide which candidates will represent them in a variety of positions that are up for grabs.

Polling places will be open in Kootenai County from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for the general election.

County Clerk Jim Brannon expects voter turnout to be good, with a significant number of the county’s 103,423 registered voters participating.

“We’re already, with early voting and absentees, at 19%,” Brannon said, around 2 p.m. Monday. “I suspect we will go over 50% on Tuesday.”

The county sent 18,009 absentee ballots to Kootenai County voters who requested them, and as of Monday afternoon, 14,417 of those ballots were returned to the county elections office. More absentee ballots will come in throughout the day Tuesday.

For this election, 5,311 people voted early at the elections office. That is down slightly, Brannon said, from the 5,640 people who voted early during the last midterm elections in 2018.

Brannon said election results will not be available Tuesday evening, mainly due to races with write-in candidates.

“One is going to get a substantial number of votes,” he said, likely referring to the Kootenai County assessor election. “I’m hoping we can get the unofficial results by 5:30 a.m.”

Election results are considered unofficial until they are canvassed and certified by the county board of canvassers, a function of the board of county commissioners, usually around a week after the election.

Brannon said when a write-in vote is received, it must be verified by a write-in board, adding additional steps and time to the election process.

For Wednesday’s print edition, The Press will report the results available at press time Tuesday evening. After all the ballots have been counted, the results will be published Wednesday on cdapress.com.

All voters must go to their designated polling place today. The elections office offers an online polling place locator tool at https://www.kcgov.us/321/Polling-Place-Look-Up.

No party affiliation is required for today's election, but you must be a registered voter.

Voters who have moved, changed their names or are registering for the first time can register at the polls. Bring photo identification such as a driver's license and proof you have lived at your Kootenai County address for at least 30 days, such as a utility bill.

Absentee ballots must be received at the county elections office, 1808 E. Third St., Coeur d'Alene, by 8 tonight.

County elections officials performed a logic and accuracy test Thursday of the county’s ballot tabulators, to ensure ballot accuracy.

Brannon said that because the validity of elections has come under question in recent years, he had Sheriff Bob Norris help him with the logic and accuracy test.

“The sheriff sat across from me, and he checked my work,” Brannon said. “It matched 100%.”

Another logic and accuracy test will be run before elections officials begin counting ballots today, and they will run the test again after the last ballot has been counted Wednesday morning, Brannon said.

A number of election security measures have been implemented in Kootenai County in the past few years. This includes cameras livestreaming coverage of the areas where ballots are kept, processed and counted and doors with unique entry codes to each of these areas. Ballots have special marks and the paper is a certain weight, details designed to detect fraud.

Brannon said he can’t speak for what goes on elsewhere when it comes to election fraud.

“I can tell you about Kootenai County, and it’s tight right here,” he said. “I will not allow an illegal vote to nullify a legal vote.”