BOISE, Idaho — On Tuesday, millions of Americans will cast their vote to determine who will be the nation's next commander-in-chief. Millions of Americans have already cast their vote in the 2020 general election.
Here in Idaho, around 500,000 people have already voted in this year's election. Like the rest of the nation, however, many more are waiting to cast their ballot at the polls.
See everything you need to know before you head to the polls in our comprehensive Idaho voter guide. We'll also have complete and live Idaho election results after the polls close. Bookmark our election results page now and download the KTVB app to get urgent push alerts.
The Secretary of State's office is preparing for a historic turnout. 75% of registered voters cast a ballot in the 2016 election. This year, they're ready for more than 80%.
This is largely due to the fact that nearly half a million people have already voted, according to Deputy Secretary of State Chad Houck.
“That tells us that we're probably looking for somewhere in the vicinity of 300,000 in-person voters tomorrow at the polling locations across the state,” Houck said.
Polling locations are facing a shortage of poll workers this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To accommodate the shortage, the state is training around 50 poll workers as part of a contingency plan.
These poll workers are part of the Idaho Transportation Department’s aeronautics division. Houck did not release which counties in Idaho requested extra poll workers.
“We trained those poll workers here locally and we were able to deploy them out across the state this afternoon into some counties that requested them,” Houck said. “We just don't want to put that information out on the possibility that may be seen to impact or sway the election one way or the other."
Another area of concern among Idaho voters is electioneering and voter intimidation laws.
People campaigning must stay at least 100 feet away from the polls. Voter intimidation, however, may not happen directly at the polls.
“It stems back to when someone would say if you don't vote this way, your rent may double,” Houck said. “Or if you don't vote this way, you’re going to see physical harm.”
There has also been concern over attire at the polls. Wearing an article of clothing representative of a candidate is allowed, but with exceptions.
“That doesn't apply when you go to from what's considered passive which is just wearing that to when you become active which is when you defend it,” Houck said.
The best thing to do is avoid it altogether, according to Houck, that way everyone can vote in peace.
Results for Idaho are expected to begin coming in around 9 p.m., after polls close in parts of Northern Idaho in the pacific time zone. Those results will be unofficial until the counties and state canvass. The state won’t do that until the 18th and the counties need to be done by the 13th.
As for COVID-19 precautions at the polls, that's also going to vary county by county, much like the response has varied from health district to health district.
“The Secretary of State’s office left that conversation to the discretion of county clerks based on the CDC guidelines that have been provided,” Houck said.
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