Election 2024: 146,000 Idaho voters and counting have already voted by absentee ballot

With five days to go until the 2024 general election, nearly 150,000 Idaho voters have already voted by absentee ballot, according to the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office.

As of Thursday afternoon, 146,139 Idahoans had cast their vote by absentee ballot, surpassing the total number of votes by absentee ballot in the 2022 election. 

During the 2022 general election, which was not a presidential election, 129,210 Idahoans voted by absentee ballot, according to the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office. 

An additional 173,795 Idaho voters had participated in early voting for the 2024 election, as of Wednesday.

“With Idahoans showing up in large numbers for early voting and absentee, we are on the path to a historic turnout for the Nov. 5 general election,” Secretary of State Phil McGrane said in a written statement Wednesday. “I encourage every eligible voter to make a plan, whether it’s early voting through Friday, returning an absentee ballot, or heading to the polls on Election Day.”

About 23% of absentee ballots requested have not yet been returned, so the number of votes by absentee ballot is likely to continue to increase until polls close on Election Day.

Most of the voters who have voted by absentee ballot are Republicans. According to the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office, 82,059 of the absentee ballots that have been returned for the 2024 general election are from registered Republicans. That compares to 33,727 ballots from unaffiliated voters, 29,276 from registered Democrats, 791 from Libertarians and 286 from Constitution Party members.

In an interview Thursday at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise, McGrane said he has been most surprised and impressed by the 173,795 in-person early votes.

“One of things that I have found most interesting this election is that as of right now, we have more early votes cast than we do absentee ballots cast, and I think if this trend continues today and tomorrow, I think this might be the first election where early voting surpassing absentee voting,” McGrane said. “And that is noteworthy.”

McGrane said he attributes the increase in early voting to voters simply feeling more comfortable voting that way.

“I think we are feeling the energy around early voting this cycle,” McGrane said.