KOOTENAI COUNTY – Voting in the 2024 Idaho General election officially began when the first round of absentee ballots mailed on September 20. With over 15,000 requested so far, Kootenai County has a high number of absentee ballot voters. In the 2024 May Primary, 7,149 absentee ballots were cast in Kootenai County.
The Idaho Secretary of State has a comprehensive election website for everything a voter needs to know about the November 5 election, and an 18-page Voter Pamphlet was mailed throughout Idaho last week. At VoteIdaho.gov voters can:
- preview a sample ballot.
- register to vote.
- review arguments for and against the Idaho Constitutional Amendment and Proposition 1.
- request an absentee ballot through October 25.
- find early in-person voting dates and locations.
- look up their polling location.
Those seeking information on candidates will have to attend local forums and campaign events or review individual candidate material, because the data at VoteIdaho.gov limits candidate information to their name, party, and office. Additionally, voters can find candidate information at political parties websites. In Kootenai County, voters can go to the Republican Party at https://www.kootenaigop.org/, the Democratic Party at https://kootenaidemocrats.org/, the Libertarian Party at https://kclcc.org/, and the Constitutional Party at https://idahocp.com/.
For Kootenai voters new to using an absentee ballot, it is important to understand that all completed ballots mailed from voters back to the elections department will be routed through the United States Postal Service sorting center in Spokane, Washington. In other words, your ballot will be sent out-of-state if you choose to use the USPS to return your completed ballot.
Alternatively, voters can return their completed absentee ballots directly to the Kootenai County Elections Department at 1808 North Third Street in Coeur d’Alene.
At the time of the 2024 May Primary, there were 107,440 registered voters in Kootenai County. Only 32,703 ballots were cast in May, resulting in a 30.4 percent voter turnout. In the 2020 Presidential Election, the county had 90,519 ballots cast out of 103,552 registered voters, an 87.4 percent turnout.
As of August 29, 2024, the county has 107,726 registered voters with 42.8 percent over the age of 60.
