Coronavirus: Idaho expecting record voting turnout, St. Luke’s moves 2020 FitOne online
The Idaho Secretary of State’s Office announced Thursday night that this month’s primary election — which is being held using mail-in ballots due to coronavirus concerns — is on track for the largest non-gubernatorial election turnout in state history.
State officials say just over 415,500 Idahoans have requested ballots, which is around 46% of the now 907,342 registered voters statewide. Though the large number of ballots doesn’t necessarily mean every single ballot will be cast, the Secretary of State’s Office called the demand for ballots an “unprecedented response.”
For comparison, Idaho’s March 2016 primary election voter turnout was around 23% of registered voters, with 176,806 ballots cast.
“The numbers truly speak for themselves,” Secretary of State Lawerence Denney said in a news release. “Voting is a right Idahoans hold dear, and they were not going to let the coronavirus get in their way of participating in the May primary election. We want to say thank you to all of the Idahoans who adapted with us through these changing circumstances.”
The deadline to return ballots is 8 p.m. June 2. Results will be released that night starting at about 9 p.m. Mountain time.
To properly return a ballot, voters must pay close attention to the instructions included in the ballot. Voters must place the ballot into a privacy sleeve, and then place it into a second envelope and sign it. Voters should be sure to seal the envelope before mailing it back to their local election office.
All ballots have a return address included in a supplied envelope, and postage has been paid for most ballots. For those without postage, grocery stores around the state have stepped in to assist voters and will return ballots at no cost to voters. For information, go to idahovotes.gov/grocery for details.
If you requested your ballot on May 18 or 19, the secretary of state says to be patient when waiting for your ballot. Chad Houck, chief deputy secretary of state, said in a news release that all counties have finished processing ballot requests.
St. Luke’s FitOne events won’t be in person this year
St. Luke’s FitOne — the largest one-day running event in Idaho — won’t be held in person this year out of coronavirus concerns.
Instead, the hospital system announced Friday that it will hold a series of online challenges and events spread throughout the community. The virtual events will take place leading up to September.
FitOne, which hosts a 5K, 10K and half marathon every year, was originally scheduled to take place Sept. 26 in Boise.
Through the summer, FitOne will be “celebrating with runners and walkers online while they’re out being active in all their favorite ways,” according to a news release.
Registration will take place July 8-9 and will cost $20 for any distance, including the half marathon. All funds raised benefit the St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital in Boise.
New cases reported Friday in Bannock County
Two new cases of the coronavirus were reported Friday morning in Bannock County.
According to a tweet from Southeastern Idaho Public Health, two girls younger than 18 tested positive for the virus, and they are recovering at home. Health officials believe the two were in contact with another confirmed case.
The new cases brings Bannock County’s coronavirus total to 14, the most of any county within the Southeastern Idaho Public Health’s coverage area.
Thursday evening, 24 new cases were reported by health officials around Idaho. The bulk of those were reported by the South Central Public Health District, which includes Twin Falls, Jerome and Blaine counties.
Twin Falls County reported eight new cases Thursday, bringing its total to 286 positive cases. The county has the third-most cases in the state, trailing Ada and Blaine.
Other cases were reported Thursday in Jerome, Canyon, Gooding and Minidoka counties. Single cases were reported in Ada, Gem and Cassia, among others.
As of Thursday, coronavirus cases have been found in 33 of Idaho’s 44 counties: Ada 739, Adams 3, Bannock 12, Bingham 6, Blaine 499, Bonner 4, Bonneville 18, Camas 1, Canyon 263, Caribou 1, Cassia 20, Custer 2, Elmore 30, Fremont 2, Gem 13, Gooding 26, Idaho 3, Jefferson 5, Jerome 94, Kootenai 66, Latah 5, Lemhi 1, Lincoln 27, Madison 12, Minidoka 21, Nez Perce 72, Owyhee 9, Payette 19, Power 3, Teton 10, Twin Falls 286, Valley 2 and Washington 31.
Community spread has been detected in 18 Idaho counties: Ada, Bannock, Bingham, Blaine, Bonneville, Canyon, Elmore, Gem, Jefferson, Jerome, Kootenai, Lemhi, Owyhee, Madison, Minidoka, Payette, Teton and Twin Falls.
This story was originally published May 22, 2020 at 10:54 AM.
