Nearly 37 Percent of Registered Voters in Idaho Cast Primary Ballots

BOISE, Idaho (KLIX)-Close to 37 percent of the voting population in Idaho voted in the first every all-absentee ballot election in May. The Idaho Secretary of State Lawrence Denney, Idaho State Controller Brandon Woolf, Idaho State Treasurer Julie Ellsworth, and members of the Idaho's State Board of Canvassers conducted the official state canvass of the 2020 Primary Election that didn't see a single Idahoan step into a voting booth; every ballot cast was mailed in as an absentee ballot.

“The coronavirus pandemic forced Idaho to conduct the May primary as an all-absentee ballot election,” said Secretary Denney in a prepared statement. “I want to thank Idahoans for their patience with the unprecedented changes we had to make in our elections process. State and county election officials and staff put in long hours of hard work and pivoted quickly to make this election a great success.”

Out of the 906,977 people that can vote in the state, 335,037 (36.94 percent) voted in the primary. The last primary held in May 2016 has seen a 23 percent voter turnout. According to the Secretary of State, the highest voter turnout was in Idaho County with 61.6 percent, Custer County with 56.88 percent, and Butte County at 55.88 percent; the last two are some the least populated counties in Idaho. Official election results will be posted to the Elections Division page of sos.idaho.gov.