‘There is a buzz out there’: Ahead of Election Day, Boise area sets early voting record

If you've sensed energy is high around this year's election, Ada County Clerk Trent Tripple says you're not imagining it.

As of Thursday, Ada County voters had cast about 9,000 early ballots, compared with about 5,300 at the same time in the 2020 election, Tripple said during a media briefing at the Ada County Elections Office. Outside the building, cars were lined up — and the parking lot was full — as residents continued to drop off early ballots.

"This week of early voting has had record turnout for us," Nicole Camarda, a spokesperson for the County Clerk's office, told the Idaho Statesman by email.

The county has also seen an influx of requests for absentee ballots: About 60,000 voters have requested them, three times as many as in 2016, Tripple said.

"There is a buzz out there," Tripple said. "People, I think, have been waiting for weeks to come cast their vote ...You've seen a lot of coverage on this. There's a lot of political energy on both sides of the aisle ... There's a lot of people that are very invested and interested in the outcome of this election."

The uptick reflects trends in other states. North Carolina broke its turnout record on its first day of early voting, soon after Georgia far outpaced its first-day voting total from 2020, the Washington Post reported Friday.

Will registered-voter turnout reach 90%

Tripple anticipated that early voting enthusiasm could translate into higher overall turnout that "could approach 90%, based off the energy we're seeing right now," he said.

Ada County has 320,000 registered voters, though Elections Director Saul Seyler said he anticipated an additional 20,000 may register on Election Day.

"That would be in line with our historic trends," he said.

Early voting ends Nov. 1 in Ada County. The deadline to request an absentee ballot is Friday, Oct. 25. Voters can find more information at Who's got your vote for Ada County offices? See the candidates and what they say

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Boise-area voter turnout varied widely by district. How did your neighborhood stack up?