BOISE, Idaho — The 2020 Idaho May primary has been full of changes, just ask Ada County Clerk Phil McGrane.
"This is the most unique election I've ever experienced. Both in terms of how we've been conducting it and now some of the issues we've faced, we've never seen these before," he said.
One of those issues, Idahoans not being able to register for a mail-in ballot online. McGrane explained to KTVB on Monday that the problem some faced with the website last week.
"It was created fairly quickly. It's in our aging system, which is actually in the process of being replaced," he said, "and it's my understanding that if they had over 500 requests in an hour, the system would time out. It just couldn't handle that volume coming through and because it was election day and those final hours, some people were experiencing those disruptions."
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Idaho Governor Brad Little had previously extended the deadline to register and request a ballot when coronavirus concerns first became an issue.
On late Friday, a federal judge ruled that because of the issues with the website, the deadline to register would, again, be extended.
"Judge Winmill decided late Friday evening to extend the deadline for absentee requests for this election. So, the new deadline is this Tuesday at 8 p.m. for anybody that wants to request an absentee ballot," McGrane said.
If you managed to request last week, your ballot will be at your address soon.
"The bulk of them will be those requests that we received the 20th, 21st, and 22nd last week. We will be issuing those ballots starting this week," said McGrane.
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For those who request a ballot on Monday or Tuesday, McGrane explained what people need to know.
"For those people who request a ballot this weekend, because the postal service isn't operating today, the soonest any ballot will be sent out is Tuesday and probably most of them on Wednesday. So we anticipate, in Ada County, that many people will receive their ballots on June first or maybe June second," said McGrane.
The deadline to get your ballot turned in remains June 2.
"If a voter doesn't get their ballot until right near the deadline, they need to plan on dropping it off at our dropbox or our office on Benjamin Lane. That will be the most certain way to make sure their vote is counted. If they toss it in the mail, it's not going to be enough time to get that ballot back," said McGrane.
Voters can register online at Idahovotes.gov or by printing a registration form off the website and dropping it off at your county clerks' address. The website shows where that location is.
Again, the final deadline to request a ballot is Tuesday, 8 p.m. McGrane said people shouldn't wait until right at the deadline to request one.
"Definitely don't wait until the final hours. It is possible, according to the Secretary of State's Office, there could be similar issues if too many people wait till the last minute. So, hopefully people are using this weekend using the holiday today to get in and get those requests done if they didn't already do so prior to the deadline," he said.
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