One day before the election, 1 in 3 registered Idahoans has already voted
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IDAHO FALLS — More than 1 in 3 registered Idaho voters — 35.67% — have already submitted their ballots as the nation prepares for a consequential and contentious general election on Tuesday.
As of Monday, 380,603 Idahoans cast early and absentee ballots in the November general election, according to the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office.
Idaho has 1,068,941 registered voters, of whom 630,539 (59%) are Republicans, 283,913 (27%) are unaffiliated and 136,047 (13%) are Democrats. An additional 12,023 voters (1%) are Libertarians, and 4,448 (0%) are affiliated with the Constitution party.
Breaking down the numbers
Of the voters who submitted early and absentee ballots statewide, the Secretary of State’s office reports the vast majority were Republicans. Here is a breakdown of the numbers:
- 239,965 Republicans
- 81,578 independents
- 55,472 Democrats
- 2,539 Libertarians
- 1,049 were members of the Constitution Party
One in five registered voters (20.6%) or 220,586 total Idahoans participated in early voting, which closed on Friday.
Additionally, 160,017 absentee ballots have been returned, as of Nov. 4.
The state originally issued 192,461 absentee ballots, meaning that 83.1% of requested absentee ballots have been submitted, and more are rolling in.
East Idaho counties smash single-day early voting records
In Bonneville County, 20,495 individuals (32% of registered voters) voted early or absentee, Bonneville County Elections Supervisor Helena Welling said.
A total of 13,203 individuals voted early, and 7,292 absentee ballots have been returned — with more still arriving.
“I think there’s a lot of talk in media about these elections, and it seems like there’s a lot of people (who) seem to have very strong feelings about this election — which way they feel like it needs to go,” Welling said. “So it’s driving that.”
Both Bonneville and Bannock Counties shattered single-day early voting records on Friday, Nov. 1 during the final day of early voting, officials confirmed.
In Bonneville County, 2,210 people voted Friday, and 507 individuals registered for the polls on the final day of early voting.
“It was a big-time record for us,” Welling said.
In Bannock County, 1,272 people voted Friday, compared to nearly 1,000 voters on the final early voting day in 2020.
In total, 15,397 Bannock County have already voted early or absentee this election.
“It’s been very popular,” Bannock County Elections Supervisor Brandi McCarron said.
In 2020, approximately 22,000 Bannock voters participated with early and absentee ballots, she said, but that year was an anomaly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2016, only about 8,000 Bannock voters submitted early or via absentee ballots.
Madison County is also experiencing robust turnout, with 4,630 early and absentee ballots cast — representing about 22% of registered voters, said the county’s Elections Director Brenda Stoor.
Rexburg experiences high numbers of college students seeking to register, but some have been turned away this year, as a new 2023 state law requires them to provide an Idaho identification, driver’s license or passport in order to vote.
Across the state, voters can still submit absentee ballots to their local county election office until 8 p.m. on Tuesday.
“Absentee ballots cannot be taken to polling places,” Welling said. “People can go to a polling place and vote, even if they have an absentee ballot. If they have not voted yet, they have to have that (absentee) ballot rejected, and then they can vote there at the polling place.”
Overall, election officials anticipate excellent turnout on Tuesday.
“They’re going to be out in droves tomorrow,” Stoor said.
The polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
For a complete list of polling places, sample ballot and documents required to register to vote, visit voteidaho.gov.
EastIdahoNews.com will be working late Tuesday to provide complete election coverage. Up-to-the-second results will be posted as they come in Tuesday evening.