Voting in region starts strong

It’s Election Day — but plenty of ballots had already been cast before today in north central Idaho and southeastern Washington.

Early and absentee voting has become more common in Idaho and mail-in voting is the rule in Washington. Election officials in Clearwater, Idaho, Latah, Lewis, Nez Perce, Asotin, Garfield and Whitman counties on Monday reported robust early voting.

Traditional in-person voting is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. today in Idaho and ballots can be turned in to county election officials in Washington until 8 p.m. today. People who aren’t registered can do so at polling locations or county election offices.

Latah County: Perhaps 85% voter turnout

Latah County is expecting the strongest voter turnout in years today.

“I bet we will hit 85% voter turnout,” Latah County Auditor Julie Fry said.

That would be higher than the previous presidential elections in 2020 and 2016, when the voter turnout reached 81% and 76% respectively, she said. There have already been 4,801 early voters and nearly 3,500 absentee returns as of Monday morning.

“People were so patient,” Fry said. “We had great poll workers. We had lots of help getting all the people through early voting.”

She said there have been 448 new voter registrations, too. Fry advises that residents registering to vote today bring an Idaho ID or a passport, and proof of their residency. The proof of residency can be a physical form or a screenshot on the voter’s phone, she said.

Fry said she is pleased with how smoothly the election has gone so far. She said the only complication occurred when voters in the unincorporated town of Linden received ballots that did not have the Kendrick School District supplemental levy on them. Fry said her office reissued the correct ballots to those voters.

Fry said she is hoping that a good portion of the election results will be posed relatively early tonight. She wants to post the results of the early voting, absentee voting and Moscow precincts by 9:30 p.m.

A list of polling locations can be found on the Latah County elections website at bit.ly/48DO3rB.

Nez Perce County: Early voting just behind record pace

Patty Weeks, Nez Perce County clerk/auditor/recorder, said the county has had 5,034 people who voted early and 2,965 absentee ballots. But Weeks said it didn’t surpass the high number of early voting in 2016 with 3,872 early votes and 5,610 absentee votes.

This year, the county is implementing new technology to help voters with questions. At the Nez Perce County Fairgrounds, there will be signs posted with topics about correctly registering and finding your precinct, and those will have QR codes people can scan that will provide the information.

Weeks said there are 15 people who plan on being poll watchers, but she doesn’t expect any issues based on past experience.

Idaho County: Huge county expecting robust voting

Early and absentee voting in Idaho County has been robust, a sure sign that turnout for today’s election is likely to be strong.

“Idaho County usually has really high voter turnout in a presidential election year but this is busier than we have been in the past,” said Idaho County Clerk Kathy M. Ackerman.

Idaho’s largest geographical county, which has polling places in two time zones, generally posts a voter turnout rate of about 85%. Ackerman said that it is among the highest in the Gem State.

“We just like to vote here,” she said.

Grangeville residents should take note that Idaho National Guard Armory, the city’s normal polling place, is having work done on its heating, ventilation and air conditioning system and voting will be held at the Grangeville Senior Citizens Center instead. Ackerman said her office has mailed letters to voters informing them of the change and posted it on its website. This morning there will be signs at the Armory.

Prior to the May primary election, the county processed 137 new voter registrations. It has tallied 127 more for the general election. People who have not yet registered to vote can do so at the polls. They need a valid ID, like a driver’s license, and something with their current address on it, like a utility bill, if it is different from what is on their ID.

No one has signed up to be a poll watcher in Idaho County. The county expects to be able to release results by at least midnight.

Lewis County: Early voting well ahead normal pace

In most election years, Lewis County only sees about two dozen absentee and in-person early voters.

Not this year.

“I want to say we had 150 in the last 10 days just in in-person (early voting) and almost 500 absentee (voters),” said Lewis County elections director Karen Long.

She thinks that level of early interests will carry over to today’s in-person voting.

“It’s going to be busy.”

She said the county has processed lots of new voter registrations. In 2020, the last presidential election, the primary was conducted via mail because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Turnout was high for it and for the general election.

“Here it is not COVID and we are having record numbers. It really is kind of exciting,” she said.

Residents who have not already registered can do so at the polls. They will need a form of valid ID and something with their current address on it, like a utility bill, if it is different from what is on their ID.

No one has signed up to be a poll watcher in Lewis County.

Election results for the county will be posted on the Idaho Secretary of State website at bit.ly/3UGwAcn.

Clearwater County: Strong early voting

In Clearwater County, 801 people have voted by absentee ballot and 776 have voted early. That’s a higher turnout than was expected, according to election deputy Savannah Bertholf. That means today’s numbers will also be high, which Bertholf attributed to the fact that it’s a presidential election this year.

All has gone well for the county this year and Bertholf and the election workers are ready to count ballots election night.

During the last election, Clearwater County had some poll watchers, but none are expected today.

For those registering to vote today, Bertholf suggested making sure they have the correct identification and residency to register.

Whitman County: ‘Running pretty smoothly’

Whitman County is anticipating a busy Election Day even with a strong early voting response.

Sandy Jamison, Whitman County auditor, said there’s been a steady flow of voters sending in their ballots before today’s general election.

She estimated more than 8,700 ballots were received by the office on Monday, and another 3,000 are waiting to be processed. All ballots in Washington must be postmarked today or turned in to the county election office.

“We’re running pretty smoothly so far,” she said. “Folks have been very patient. We’re getting people through as fast as we can and hope they’re being proactive.”

While it’s hard to tell until all votes have been received, Jamison expects great voter turnout.

The only challenge Jamison has run into is ballots lost by the U.S. Postal Service. Last week, she announced around 250 ballots, most addressed to Garfield residents, were never delivered to constituents.

All Whitman County ballots were sent Oct. 16 and successfully scanned by the main Spokane postal office.

Postal service employees are retracing the distribution route in hopes to reveal the missing ballots’ location. Jamison hasn’t heard an update on the matter, and is unaware where the ballots may have gone.

Jamison believes the matter is caused by human error, and has no indication it’s fraud or a scheme of some sort.

Voters who didn’t receive a ballot need to visit the Whitman County Elections Office in Colfax to request another. She said it’s too late to mail replacement ballots.

Constituents have until 8 p.m. today to register to vote at the Colfax office or at WSU Compton Union Building second floor Senior Ballroom campus extension.

All information about the general election can be found by visiting the Whitman County Elections website at bit.ly/4fyBX5C.

Asotin County: More than 60% of ballots have been returned

In Asotin County, Auditor Darla McKay said the return rate of ballots is more than 60% as of Monday. By the time the votes are tallied tonight and later in the week, she is hoping for an 80% to 85% turnout, which is larger than usual. Presidential elections always tend to bring out more voters, she said.

“Things have been going well,” McKay said on the eve of the general election.

Washington residents can still register to vote in person today by going to the county courthouses before 8 p.m. in such places as Asotin, Pomeroy or Colfax.

Garfield County: Turnout at 66% on eve of Election Day

Garfield County Auditor McKenzie Lueck said early voting has been going “very well” in her rural county, which typically has a solid turnout.

As of Monday, the turnout was at 66%, but Lueck expects more ballots to flood into her office today. Ballots with the correct postmark will be counted later this week.

“I’m incredibly lucky with my staff,” Lueck said. “Everything has gone smoothly this far.”