Boise-area voters explain why they chose Harris or Trump for president
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Idaho Elections 2024
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Idahoans walked out of polling locations across the Treasure Valley on Tuesday, their decisions made and their ballots cast.
All that was left to do was wait to see what the rest of the country concluded about the 2024 presidential race, which was expected to be tight and possibly not even decided on Election Day itself.
There isn’t any suspense about whether Republican Donald Trump or Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris will win Idaho’s four electoral votes — the state last went for a Democratic presidential candidate in 1964, when Lyndon Johnson won.
People who spoke to the Idaho Statesman cited reasons that included the economy, women’s health care and morals when it came down to marking their ballots.
Abortion rights leading issue for many Harris voters
Gabrielle Navarro, 33, emerged from Boise’s Dick Eardley Senior Center early Tuesday morning wearing her “I Voted” sticker proudly on her shirt.
Navarro said she has experienced personal struggles with reproductive health and is afraid of what could happen if she becomes pregnant under another Trump presidency. She said she hopes Harris will help try to “preserve freedoms” surrounding “reproductive justice.”
“As somebody who may need that kind of care if I become pregnant, I don’t feel safe here in Idaho,” Navarro said. “So she just felt like a better choice for somebody like me and anybody with a uterus.”
Navarro wasn’t alone in her reasoning. The majority of those who voted for Harris and spoke to the Statesman outside of Boise and Meridian polling locations said that abortion rights and women’s health care were their biggest motivators.
Three Supreme Court judges chosen by Donald Trump — which tilted the high court far to the right — helped overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022, giving states the ability to ban or restrict abortion, which most Republican-run states quickly did. The GOP-dominated Idaho Legislature, which consists of 74 men and 32 women, passed some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country.
The procedure is now legal only in cases of ectopic or molar pregnancy, reported cases of rape or incest, or when a pregnant patient’s life is at risk, though the laws are unclear enough that some doctors are concerned about performing it even under those circumstances.
While Avery Iannone, 21, isn’t worried about the issue for himself, he said he is for his two sisters. He voted for Harris.
“The fact that there are people out there wanting to strip those rights away, and those women are at risk of having that affect their health, it doesn’t sit right with me,” Iannone said.
Christopher Bueno, 30, said one of the many reasons he decided to vote for Harris was the way Republicans talk about race.
“I’m a person of color, and, for the most part, it just seems like the other side has pretty drastic rhetoric against people like me,” Bueno said. “Voting for that would kind of feel like voting against my integrity.”
Debra Anderson, 69, said she has voted for Republicans in the past but couldn’t this time for president. She said she “feels good” about her choice.
“I can vote for the Republicans, but not Trump,” Anderson said. “They need to choose better candidates and not be sycophantically aligned with one individual.”
Trump voters concerned about economy, immigration
Those who filled in the bubble next to Trump’s name had their own reasons for doing so, though fewer Trump voters were willing to discuss their decision with the Statesman.
Those who did all said they thought the country was better off during Trump’s presidency, which ran from early 2017 to early 2021.
“His policies are clearer, effective, they work,” said Greg Allard, 66. “He has a proven track record, and that’s why I voted for him.”
Allard said the Trump policies he is most supportive of surround immigration and the border, calling the Biden administration’s handling of the issue “ridiculous.”
“Once you have an open border, you lose control of your country,” Allard said.
Congress had a bipartisan border deal in place earlier this year that included more officers and enhanced security, and was backed by the Border Patrol council. Trump had those loyal to him in Congress stymie the bill.
Idaho’s leaders have been supportive of putting more resources toward border security. The state spent $205,655 this year sending state police troopers to the Texas-Mexico border, and even Gov. Brad Little visited.
Kamillia Carlson, 31, said she went with Trump because she hoped he would make things more affordable. She said the rising costs of groceries and gas have hit home for her.
“The last time we voted for Trump, things were better than they are now,” Carlson said.
Glen Wallace, 69, cited concerns about inflation, which has fallen to 2.4% after spiking to 9.1% in summer 2022, and immigration. The inflation rate was 2.3% at the end of 2019 and 1.4% at the end of 2020.
“This country needs to be straightened out,” Wallace said. “I want to see financial responsibility. There’s so much money just being wasted. I want to see the country run like a business.”
Secretary of State’s Office provides Election Day update
Statewide voter turnout reached 916,943, , making up 85.7% of Idaho’s 1,069,763 registered voters, according to VoteIdaho.gov. In Ada County, 271,185 of the county’s 324,704 voters went to the polls, an 83.5% turnout. In Canyon County, 102,374 of the 119,889 registered voters cast ballots, an 85.4% turnout.
The vote totals and percentages are unofficial estimates that do not account for Election Day registration, the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office said.
Secretary of State Phil McGrane had expected same-day registrations to reach 90,000 to 100,000.
He said he thought 2024 could be the first election in which early in-person voting surpasses absentee voting totals.
Chad Thompson, a spokesperson for Canyon County, told the Statesman that more early votes were cast in person than by absentee ballot, with about 58% of the early voting done in person, according to Thompson. Canyon County sent out 25,000 absentee ballots.
Reporter Rose Evans and Business and Local Government Editor David Staats contributed.
This story was originally published November 5, 2024 at 3:15 PM.
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