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Idaho elections expert answers last-minute voting questions

With just days until the Nov. 3 election, Ada County Clerk Phil McGrane answers your most commonly-asked election-related questions.

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BOISE, Idaho — With only days left until election day 2020, thousands of Idahoans have voted through absentee or early voting. 

Voters who are waiting to vote in person on election day, though, still have questions about submitting their ballots.

KTVB reporter Joe Parris spoke with Idaho elections expert, Ada County Clerk Phil McGrane, to ask viewer questions that have been sent in to us.

McGrane told KTVB that the process of preparing for election day is in full swing.

“On Tuesday, this week, things really kicked off here at the elections office," McGrane said. "We actually started the process of opening absentee ballots because of the huge numbers that have come in and the team behind me are actually scanning many of those absentee ballots it's going to take us every day so we've got two crews working."

A popular question is about safety at the polls, given the tense political atmosphere nationwide. A KTVB viewer wrote to us asking about the measures being taken to ensure voter intimidation is not happening at the polls.

“I think the first thing I really want to emphasize is we've had no indication and we've had no experiences of voter intimidation or people showing up to any of the early voting sites," McGrane said. "I’ve had meetings with all the local law enforcement agencies, and we do have plans in place in case there's any need to address any issues that come up. Of course, we always have that for any election, but there's a heightened awareness this year. So far through the law enforcement intelligence, we're not seeing that here. That's not to say it won't happen in other states, but we don't anticipate anything happening at the polls."

While the vast majority of voters who requested an absentee ballot had no problems, some voters are concerned about never getting one. A viewer asked about what to do if a requested absentee ballot was never received. At this point what should voters do?

“That's a great question," McGran said. "It should have arrived by now. There must be some issue with the postal service in that specific case. Voters can contact us and we can look at it, but probably the safest and easiest thing to do would be [to] go vote at one of the early voting locations or plan to vote on election day. Poll workers know that you did request an absentee ballot, but you haven't actually returned it to us, so they will happily issue a new ballot and you can vote at one of those locations."

MORE: Watch: Ada County clerk answers your voting questions ahead of the November 3 election

Election officials are encouraging voters to contact them directly with specific questions.

Many voters are utilizing ballot drop boxes for the first time, which has prompted procedural questions from voters who don't want to accidentally break any election rules. A popular question: can you legally take someone else's absentee ballot to the dropbox, or would that be considered voting for someone else?

“That's a great question because it's gaining a lot of attention on the national stage," McGrane said. "Here in Idaho, yes, you can take someone else's ballot and drop it off and about in the dropbox. It's important that the person who voted that ballot, and whose vote that is, that they sign that, that is where we're validating to make sure the person who voted it is the person they say they are, but in terms of if your spouse wants you to take and drop it off, or a coworker, you're free to go do that without any issues."

Over the past week, a popular question nationally stems from a tweet President Trump sent about changing a vote after it's already been cast.

In short, the answer is no, a vote cannot be changed once it’s cast in Idaho.

“There are other states that allow it, but it's just simply because they're processing them differently than we are," McGrane said. "But because of that constitutional provision and that secret vote requirement there just really is no way at that point. Once you voted it, that's your ballot that's been passed."

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