COEUR d’ALENE, Idaho – Tuesday, October 15 was the opening day of early voting in Kootenai County. There was a steady stream of voters all day at the county elections department and 1,017 total ballots were cast.
“We probably set a record today for first day early voting,” shared Kootenai County Clerk Jennifer Locke.
To date, 22,138 absentee ballots have been requested by Kootenai County voters and 8,968 valid absentee ballots have been received back by the county’s elections department. Combining the returned absentee ballots with the first day early voters shows 9% of the county’s registered voters have already voted in Idaho’s 2024 General Election, three full weeks before election day.
According to the Idaho Secretary of State, as of September 27 there are 110,052 registered voters in the county; 65% are affiliated with the Republican party and 42.4% are over the age of 60.
“Today went well with the amount of early voters,” stated Locke. She said every voter received a two-page ballot.
In the 2020 presidential election, Kootenai had 103,552 registered voters with 90,519 ballots cast, an 87.41% turnout.
Sample ballots are posted on the wall at the entrance to the elections department at 1808 North Third Street in Coeur d’Alene. Early voting continues through Friday, November 1. Voters can find ballot information at IdahoVotes.gov. Election day is November 5 and polls will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
