BOISE, Idaho — In case anyone managed to forget about this election cycle for a fleeting moment, the 2020 presidential election is one of the most historic moments in American and Idaho history. This election's importance wasn't lost on one immigrant family in New Plymouth.
Early voting numbers from across the country surpassed 100 million votes before the first polls opened on Tuesday.
In Idaho, about a half-million voters turned out early by absentee mail-in ballots or in person. The Gem State also broke 1 million registered voters for the first time in history, with over 860,000 ballots cast.
The Idaho Secretary of State's Office is still finalizing the state's turnout percentage with all of the new, same-day registrations on Tuesday. But its safe to say that the roughly 85% voter turnout in Idaho included a lot of first-time voters, like the Solis family in New Plymouth.
Eighteen-year-old Raquel and her parents, Noemy and Gustavo, all voted for the first time ever in this year's presidential election. Raquel just turned 18 and this was the first election she could vote in.
"I was super excited because I mean it would be the first, not every family that gets to vote with their parents for the first time and that was really cool to experience something like that," she said.
Her parents have called New Plymouth home for the last 14 years after moving from Costa Rica.
The Solis family never discussed politics much until Noemy and Gustavo became U.S. citizens two years ago.
"Well, for us, it's very important this year because you know, is too many things going on so that's important and we very excited to be involved," Gustavo said.
So they took advantage of early voting to plan a family trip to the Payette County Courthouse last Friday to vote. It took them about an hour to cast their first-ever votes.
Those "I Voted" stickers weren't just props in a photo for this family. They're now keep-sakes for the Solis family.
"Yeah, it's a big moment, but I think it's a big responsibility too," Noemy said. "But it's a very powerful country what happens here affects the whole world."
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