BOISE, Idaho — "Today's election day, so it's the best opportunity for Idahoans to weigh in and vote," Idaho's Secretary of State, Phil McGrane, said.
This election day centers on local elections where neighbors can vote for mayors, city council members, school board trustees, fire district board members, and a variety of other local issues.
"These are really those issues that hit people closest to home. So these are the decision makers in their local city hall that will impact planning and zoning decisions, or things like just taking care of the streets or other issues. And so these are really those issues where people have the biggest impact when it comes to their local community," McGrane said.
Watch to learn more from Idaho's Secretary of State —
The election affects nearly all Idahoans, though what appears on each ballot depends on location.
"Today is a busy day all across the entire state. Almost all Idahoans have something to vote on, but it really depends on where you live because these are the local issues," McGrane said.
In the Treasure Valley, turnout reached 10% by mid-morning and was expected to continue growing throughout the day.
"Already, we've seen here in the Treasure Valley area turnout is up to about 10% so far. That will continue to grow as the day goes along, and we hope by the end of the day we see high turnout in some of these issues, especially some bonds and levies that are on ballots in local communities that always seems to drive people out," McGrane said.
While Tuesday is officially election day, voting has been ongoing for weeks through absentee and early voting options.
"So often one of the misnomers is that today's election day. Well, the election's really been happening for the past month. We've had lots of voters voting by absentee. I think we had around 32,000 absentee ballots cast throughout the state of Idaho. And then in addition, there was in-person early voting for the past couple of weeks, and there was about 30,000 people who voted in person early so we've already had well over 60,000 ballots cast before this morning started," McGrane said.
"Another 20,000 have already been cast so far today, but that will just continue to grow throughout the day, well into the evening," McGrane said.
The logistics of election day involve massive coordination across the state.
"We'll probably have 3,000 to 4,000 poll workers out in force to be able to pull off today's election there's nearly 1,000 polling locations throughout the entire state of Idaho," McGrane said.
County clerks oversee the entire process, including training workers, troubleshooting issues, and tabulating results.
"County clerks are the ones who run the elections. They're the ones who are getting all the poll workers who are out in force today, making sure that everyone has the opportunity to vote, and they'll be the ones counting the ballots all throughout the evening, and we'll be watching and supporting all of the counties throughout the day," McGrane said.
With such a large operation, McGrane acknowledged that issues can arise.
"When you think about just organizing that many people and that much of a process, mistakes can occur. It depends on what the impact is. We already know in a couple of instances in some counties there's going to be issues that after the election we need to address," McGrane said.
There are processes in place to address any problems, including judicial review and potential recounts.
"One of the key things is there's a process for judicial review. So if a county clerk sees an innocent error that happens, they can actually take it to court to review the election and decide whether or not we need to do new election. Additionally, the candidates always have resources because these are local elections. Tonight has a higher probability for a recount after the election just because you could have close races when it's a small community and not that many votes are cast," McGrane said.
Some cities may also require runoff elections in December.
"The other thing to watch this evening is looking for runoff elections. Some of our cities have provisions for runoff elections, and our office is already anticipating that there will be a few cities here in the state that will have an election at the beginning of December to determine the ultimate winner in some of these races that are divided more than just having two candidates," McGrane said.
For new residents or those who haven't registered yet, same-day registration remains available.
"One of the other things I think of note here in Idaho is we have same-day registration, so if you've moved, you've changed your name, or anything's happened, or you're new to the state of Idaho, which many people are, you can still register today at your local polling location. You need to bring photo ID and proof of residence, so that could be a utility bill, proof of insurance, something like that, and you can register the same day," McGrane said.
Voters should come prepared with proper identification to ensure a smooth experience.
"We do require photo identification to be able to vote here in the state, so just to make it as smooth as possible, come prepared, and it will make your voting experience really easy. I was talking to one reporter recently this morning who said it took them 27 seconds to get in and get out of their local polling place today. It should be that easy for everybody else as well," McGrane said.
For anyone still deciding on their votes or needing to find their polling location, McGrane recommends visiting voteidaho.gov.
"If anyone needs to see what they're voting on or find their polling location, they're going to vote Idaho.gov. One of the great tools that we have for this election is to look at your sample ballot so you can actually see the actual ballot you'll vote on, and that allows you to see what are the issues you're going to be voting on, because just because you saw the yard signs doesn't mean they're necessarily in your community," McGrane said.
McGrane emphasized that local elections have a more direct impact on daily life than federal races.
"I think one of the big things when we think about a year ago, we were all voting on president. It gets a lot more attention when the president is on the ballot," McGrane said. "Turnout is always higher when the president is on the ballot, and certainly some of the decisions that happen in Washington DC impact all of us. I mean, the government shutdown is a perfect example of that right now. You see that all over the news, but when you actually think about your daily life, whether that's running into road construction or finding delays or any of the different issues that can happen locally, the education of our children, today's election, really are those things that hit close to home."
Local funding measures are drawing particular attention in many communities.
"Certainly in those communities that have levies or bonds on the ballot, property taxes is always a hot topic, as well as just funding and supporting your local community. And so we hope that more people will show up, but that's also where getting information to voters is so important," McGrane said.
Several significant funding measures are on ballots across the state.
"Today it really depends on the community, but certainly, there are communities that have major bonds and levies on the ballot. And if you want to weigh in those to make sure that your local issues in your community are supported here, for example, in the city of Boise, there is a levy that's on the ballot for open spaces, but we certainly know there are a number of school bonds that are on the ballot throughout the state. This is your chance to weigh in on those, and often people have a say when they get their property tax bill and what they think should happen, but today is really the opportunity to voice your opinion," McGrane said.
Polls remain open until 8 p.m.
"I encourage anybody who's watching, like, get into the polls. The busiest hour for voting is between 5 and 6, when everyone gets off work. So you know, if you want to avoid the lines, I don't expect any lines today, but trying to get either later in the day or earlier while people are at work, that's probably the best time," McGrane said.
For voters with questions or challenges, help is available.
"If any voter has any challenges or has any questions, contact their local elections office. It's at their county clerk's office. They'll be happy to support you. We've also got a team of people here answering questions from voters, helping them get the resources they need to be able to vote," McGrane said.
