KOOTENAI COUNTY — There is only one seat up for election on the Community Library Network (CLN) Board of Trustees, and only residents inside the library district boundaries are eligible to vote for the position.
There are seven libraries within the CLN district: Athol, Harrison, Hayden, Pinehurst, Post Falls, Rathdrum, and Spirit Lake.
The Coeur d’Alene Library is part of city government with a board that serves at the pleasure of the Coeur d’Alene mayor and city council by appointment. Voters residing within Coeur d’Alene City limits are not eligible to vote in the CLN trustee race.
May 2019 was the last time this CLN trustee seat was up for election, although no candidate name appeared on the ballot since it was an uncontested race. Only 7.52% of registered voters in Kootenai County bothered to cast ballots in the May 2019 election. Compare that to the 42.94% voter turnout in May 2023 when two CLN trustee seats had contested races. Those seats were won by Tom Hanley and Tim Plass over incumbents Judy Meyer and Regina McCrea.
This year’s election is a contested open race, meaning no incumbent is seeking re-election and at least two candidates are vying for the position. Voters within the district will see two candidate names on their ballot: Victoria Bauman and Michelle Lippert.
Early in-person voting begins Monday, May 5 at the Kootenai County Elections Department located at 1808 N 3rd Street in Coeur d’Alene.
Absentee ballots can be requested at the voteidaho.gov website until Friday, May 9.
Editor’s Note: The unprecedented growth in North Idaho has led to significant increases in voter registrations. In the November 2024 election, Kootenai County had 112,541 registered voters, a 63.2% increase from the 68,940 registered voters in November 2014.
