Idaho Mountain Express: New state rules affect absentee voters

Friday, September 30, 2011

New state rules affect absentee voters

Ballots to be distributed, processed at county office

By MARK A. YORK

Express Staff Writer

Due to changes enacted by the state Legislature, Idaho voters have to follow new regulations for the Nov. 8 elections. Among revisions is a change to absentee voting rules that will affect large numbers of voters, particularly in Sun Valley, where about two-thirds of residents typically vote absentee.

Voters who wish to receive an absentee ballot by mail must request one from the County Clerk's Office, according to Blaine County Election Clerk Amy Rivkin. Counties are now in charge of elections, rather than taxing districts, such as cities or cemetery districts, as in previous years.

"Ballots will not be mailed out automatically [to those who voted absentee in the past]," she said.

Voters who choose to fill out a ballot before Election Day must do so at the courthouse.

"If requesting an absentee ballot in person, they must vote here," Rivkin said. "Voters can't take a ballot and leave."

No other polling places will be set up until Election Day.

Rivkin said no date to begin absentee voting has been set, but a date likely will be announced in early October. The last day to submit an absentee ballot is Friday, Nov. 4.

Voters also must show photo identification or sign a personal identification affidavit. Acceptable forms of photo ID include an Idaho driver's license or photo identification card, a U.S. passport or federal photo ID card, a tribal photo ID card or a current student photo ID issued by an Idaho high school or post-secondary education institution.

comprare viagra
comprar viagra
viagra kaufen

About Comments

Comments with content that seeks to incite or inflame may be removed.

Comments that are in ALL CAPS may be removed.

Comments that are off-topic or that include profanity or personal attacks, libelous or other inappropriate material may be removed from the site. Entries that are unsigned or contain signatures by someone other than the actual author may be removed. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or any other policies governing this site. Use of this system denotes full acceptance of these conditions. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.

The comments below are from the readers of mtexpress.com and in no way represent the views of Express Publishing, Inc.

You may flag individual comments. You may also report an inappropriate or offensive comment by clicking here.

Flagging Comments: Flagging a comment tells a site administrator that a comment is inappropriate. You can find the flag option by pointing the mouse over the comment and clicking the 'Flag' link.

Flagging a comment is only counted once per person, and you won't need to do it multiple times.

Proper Flagging Guidelines: Every site has a different commenting policy - be sure to review the policy for this site before flagging comments. In general these types of comments should be flagged: