Election set for November 5

After what seems like an interminable election season, the day is finally almost here, as many voters will head to the polls on November 5 to cast their ballots for a range of local, state, and national elections.  The phrase “many voters” is used purposefully, as early voting has been underway, and those numbers have been above average numbers across the state including in southeast Idaho.  On the other hand, “many voters” also implies that voting is not 100% of eligible voters, which is a mystery that persists.  

Predictions and early voting number reports indicate, however, that voting will be at higher rates than normal, driven by the fiercely contested presidential election that has dominated national news coverage for seemingly ever (though realistically many months, if not years). There are nine official candidates on the ballot for the position, including those representing the Libertarian party and several Independents, as well as the two main national parties.  A write-in candidate spot exists as there are a large number of qualified national write-in candidates.  Sadly for the thousands of voters who choose to use a protest vote on behalf of cultural figures like Mickey Mouse, Homer Simpson, Cthulhu, or any one of thousands of TikTokers, only candidates that have officially filed as write-in candidates will have votes cast for them counted.

Caribou County ballots (a sample ballot for Soda Springs in printed inside—the other precincts are the same but without the school bond question) contain a contested election for Mike Simpson’s District 2 Representative seat against Democrat David Roth, Libertarian Todd Corsetti, and Constitution Party candidate Idaho Law (Carta Sierra).  

At the state legislative level, the State Senate seat for District 35 features a race between Republican Mark Harris and Democrat Chris Riley.  The State Representative race for district 35 Seat A is between Democrat Joseph Messerly and Republican Kevin Andrus.  Seat B in District 35 is a race between Republican Joshua Wheeler and Democrat Maggie Shaw.

All of the County positions on the ballot are unopposed, reflecting the winners of the Republican primary contests for the most part.

As you can imagine, the order of names on the ballot has been argued about over the years as a matter of favoritism, alphabetic bias, and so on.  The current means of minimizing that are to use a randomly generated system or ordering, and rotating where the list “starts” from one precinct to the next.  In the aggregate, it gives every candidate the opportunity to appear at the top of the ballot in their contest.  The order in this article follows from the Soda Springs precinct ballot, so yours may end up being ordered differently, though the same names will appear on it. 

Speaking of the Soda Springs ballot, it features the School Bond question related to the $55+ million dollar bond which would be used for the construction of a new high school if passed, as well as additions to Thirkill Elementary School.  Voices in the community have been heard on both sides of the issue.  Anecdotally, there is widespread agreement that the current facilities are a concern, but some disagreement about the bond itself.  A report on the last bond information meeting is in this edition. 

The other two issues on the ballot are countywide, and include a ballot measure related to amending the Idaho Constitution to include language stating that noncitizens are not legally allowed to vote in elections, which the measure question states is a different than the current provision stating that voters must “be registered as provided by law” (which includes citizenship status) in order to vote.  Critics on both sides have based their arguments on how clear the language regarding this issue is, so make sure to read the proposed measure and come to your own determination.

The second biggest voting issue on the ballot (after the presidential race) is undoubtedly Proposition 1, which does two things: it creates an open primary system where Independent voters would be allowed to vote in primaries, and it creates a ranked choice voting system for the general election.  Please read the language of the proposition if you have any confusion about this issue, as it represents quite a change to Idaho’s voting system.  The idea of open primaries is not earthshaking—it just means that you would no longer have to be a registered Democrat to vote in Democratic primaries or Republican, Libertarian, etc.  This would allow Independent voters to take part in primary contests without having to officially register with a party that will then inundate them with constant fundraising messages.

Ranked choice voting would, however, affect the general election rather than the primaries.  It would require new technology and vote tabulation systems which will be required by the election offices at a cost of hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars, according to the proposition’s “Fiscal Impact Statement.”  There are some advantages to a ranked choice system, as well as some clear disadvantages, and voters are again encouraged to study the proposition before casting a vote one way or the other. 

The official Idaho Voters Guide, which explains the ballot measure and proposition in detail, can be found at https://sos.idaho.gov/elections/publications/2024_voter_pamphlet.pdf.

Polls will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 5 at the following locations:

POLLING PLACES: 

Soda Springs Precincts #1,2,3 & 4 Tigert Middle School Gym 

250 E 3rd S.

Soda Springs, ID 83276 

Grace Precincts #1 & 2

Gem Valley Performing Arts Center 704 S. Main

Grace, ID 83241 

Bancroft Precinct

Lions Club Building 

165 S. Main Bancroft, Id 83217 

Wayan & Freedom Mail Out Precincts Caribou County Courthouse 

159 S. Main

Soda Springs, ID 83276