Clerk highlights absentee voting

SANDPOINT - Bonner County Clerk Marie Scott is kicking off a campaign encouraging residents to vote absentee this election cycle.

“It's a viable public service, especially for those who have difficulty making it to the polls,” said Scott.

The county is putting paid advertisements in local newspapers which basically consist of an absentee ballot request form people can clip out and mail in to receive a ballot.

Scott said absentee voters tend be more informed voters.

“Having the ballot before the voter many weeks before the actual election day will provide them the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the names of all the candidates for all of the offices, and research the platforms of those they are not familiar with,” Scott said.

Absentee voters can also make their choices in the comfort of their own homes and take their time filling out the ballot. Absentee voting also eliminates the need to travel to poll locations and eases lines at votinvg precincts, Scott said.

It's also a boon for those with limited mobility and those who are out of the area or country on election day. Absentee voting can also be helpful to students attending school out of the area and those serving in the military.

Scott isn't discouraging people from casting their ballots at the polls and points out that absentee ballots can actually delay the counting process to a degree. She just wants people to know absentee voting can be more convenient for residents and could result in a better voter turnout, especially during a primary.

Absentee voting is particularly popular during presidential elections, Scott said. In the 2004 election, for instance, approximately 1,200 absentee votes were cast in the primary election and nearly 3,000 were cast in the general.

In 2006, Scott said only 548 absentee ballots were cast in the primary and less than 2,600 were cast in the general.

The deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail is 5 p.m., Wednesday, May 21. Once that deadline lapses, those wishing to vote absentee will have request a ballot in person and fill it out before leaving the clerk's office (such absentee ballots cannot be taken home).

The deadline to obtain an absentee ballot in person is day before the primary and general elections. The clerk's office business hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The clerk's office is usually closed on Memorial Day, but since it's the eve of the May 27 primary, the office is staying open from 9 a.m. to noon to assist with absentee voting.

Scott anticipates mailing out absentee ballots by the end of next month. The deadline to have a mailed ballot returned to the clerk's office is 8 p.m. on the day of the election. Absentee ballots cannot be turned in at voting precincts and will be discounted if they are.

Those applying for an absentee ballot are counseled to use their full legal name and required to list their physical address and their mailing address if applicable. People who sign up for an absentee ballot in the primary election will automatically receive a general election ballot as long as they check the appropriate box on the request form.

n For more information about absentee voting, contact the clerk's office at 265-1432. The clerk's office is located on the first floor of the courthouse and its mailing address is 215 South First Avenue, Sandpoint, ID. 83864.