BOISE — Decision 2018 is exactly two weeks away and the Ada County Clerk’s Office reports seeing record numbers for early voting.
On Tuesday, the mobile voting truck was stationed at Boise State University.
People of all ages, like Isabel Everett, lined up, ready to vote.
VOTER GUIDE: November 2018 General Election
“It's exciting,” Everett said. “I mean you get the reward of the cute sticker, but you also know that your local vote counts.”
As of Tuesday, Ada County has seen a record turnout.
“The numbers are getting very close to a presidential race,” said Ada County Clerk Chris Rich. “They certainly exceed any gubernatorial race we've seen.”
The county is projecting up to 73 percent voter participation.
“We’d normally be in the 50-60 percent range,” Rich said.
About 11,000 people have voted early in Ada County, which is more than the 10,158 people who voted early in Ada County in the general election cycle for 2014.
Rich says there are a lot of reasons behind the high turnout.
“We've got a gubernatorial race that's creating a lot of interest locally and nationally and we've got some initiatives on the ballot that we really haven’t had in a long time,” Rich said. “So, we've got the two at the state, the Medicaid and the horse racing and then we've got the CWI and the ACHD measures that also has something.”
Nancy Donahoo stopped by the early voting trailer on Tuesday to cast her early vote, hoping her decision will make a change.
“I’m frustrated by things that I see happening in this state and in this country,” she said. “I don’t believe we're getting answers to the questions that are being raised.”
But she's cautiously optimistic and urges everyone to vote.
“You don’t have a place at the table if you don’t go and vote,” Donahoo said. “You don’t have the right to criticize what's being done, if you never made an effort to make a change and that takes getting up, getting out and getting in line to vote regardless of how long it takes.”
Anyone who wishes to vote early can do so at Boise City Hall, Meridian City Hall or the Ada County Elections Office on Benjamin Lane. They can also track down the mobile voting truck, which will be stationed at Micron on Wednesday.