Absentee, early voting up for Tuesday's election

COEUR d’ALENE — The polls don’t open until Tuesday, but voter turnout is already trending way up in Kootenai County.

Turnout for Tuesday’s election, as of Friday afternoon, was at about 12%, based on absentee ballots received and in-person, early voting.

That percentage will grow as more absentee ballots are received over the next few days and as voters go to the polls on Election Day, which is historically when most people cast their ballots in the county.

“I think we’re going to have a record-breaking turnout,” Kootenai County Clerk Jennifer Locke said Friday.

By Friday, the Kootenai County Elections Office had received 7,848 valid absentee ballots returned from the 10,410 voters who requested them, and 4,341 people voted early at the elections office.

By comparison, in the May 2022 primary, there were 6,015 absentee voters and 2,244 who voted early at the elections office.

Early, in-person voting for Tuesday’s election closed Friday, while absentee ballots are accepted through 8 p.m. Election Day.

It’s too late to mail completed absentee ballots, as any ballots received after 8 p.m. Tuesday will not be counted. Absentee ballots that have not yet been mailed can be hand-delivered to the elections office, 1808 N. Third St., Coeur d’Alene.

Absentee ballots

Locke said Friday there were also 122 absentee ballots rejected because signatures could not be verified, but staffers are working to alert those voters so they are able to cure their ballots.

She said she spoke with the Idaho secretary of state and was told the number of ballots needing to be cured is not unusual.

The elections office is required by law to verify signatures. An absentee ballot will be rejected when the signature does not match the signature on the voter’s registration or if the signature is missing.

A non-matching signature is often because a family member or someone else signed the absentee ballot for the voter, Locke said. Sometimes it’s because the registration on file is very old.

“People’s signatures do change over time,” Locke said.

In those cases, the elections office will have the voter complete a new registration with an up-to-date signature, she said.

Letters have been sent to each voter whose absentee ballot was rejected, alerting them so they could cure it before Election Day.

Elections Office staff members also worked late Thursday, Friday and Saturday, calling voters whose absentee ballots were rejected.

“I want to reach every voter I can,” Locke said.

Since early voting is closed, voters whose absentee ballots have been rejected can still vote in person Tuesday.

“It voids their absentee,” Locke said.

She said voters who want to confirm absentee ballots have been accepted can use an online voter tool at voteidaho.gov. That “check voter record” tool shows whether a voter is registered to vote and the status of their absentee ballot.

Locke said it takes about 24 hours for the website to update an absentee ballot’s status.

Voters who are still unsure or require assistance can call the elections office at 208-446-1030 for help.

Election Day

Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Voters who are unsure where to go to vote on Election Day can use the “find your polling location” tool on voteidaho.gov or the “polling place look-up” tool on the county’s website, https://www.kcgov.us/321/Polling-Place-Look-Up.

Several contests and ballot questions are on the May 16 ballots, including highway district commissioners, hospital board trustees, library district trustees, water and sewer districts and school levies.

Voters will have different ballots depending on where they reside within the county.

The Coeur d’Alene Library is separate from the Consolidated Free Library District, so Coeur d’Alene city voters will not have the Community Library Network trustee contest on their ballots.

Contested candidate races in Kootenai County

Community Library Network, two seats: Tom Hanley, Regina McCrea, Judy Meyer, Tim Plass

Kootenai Hospital District, two seats: Chris Nordstrom, Thomas R. deTar, Paul F. Mahlow

Lakes Highway District, Sub-District 3: Steve Adams, Michael Curry

Post Falls Highway District, Sub-District 3: Glen E. Heape, Lynn Humphreys

Worley Highway District, Sub-District 1: Phil Cooper, Ronald W. Hartman

Candidates are also running for seats on the following water and sewer district boards: Alpine Meadows, Bayview, Cataldo, Dry Acres, Green Ferry, Hackney, Harbor View Estates, Hayden Lake, Kingston-Cataldo, Kootenai County Water District No. 1, North Kootenai and Ohio Match Road.

Levy elections

Coeur d’Alene School District

Lakeland Joint School District