ADA COUNTY, Idaho — Elections officials in Ada County say they want to clear up the confusion around a postcard sent out late last week to about 30,000 people regarding the upcoming election in November.
The postcards, which informed receivers that the elections office did not have an absentee request from them for the November election, were sent out to people who had requested an absentee ballot from IdahoVotes.gov for the May primary election.
At the time, the website did not have the choice to request mail-in ballots for the November election: That option was added a few weeks later.
Ada County Clerk Phil McGrane said those who requested between late-March and mid-April received the postcard as a courtesy, letting them know that the elections office did not have their absentee request for the November election.
“Our concern was that many of these voters are anticipating that they will be mailed a ballot in November, when we actually haven’t received a request from them," he said. "Really we’re just trying to draw attention to the issue, so they would have an opportunity well in advance of November to go on, make that request, and ensure that they would get a ballot.”
However, some of the 30,000 voters who had already asked for their November absentee ballot - correcting the issue - still received the letter, leading them to belive their ballot request hadn't been processed
McGrane said the names of those people simply weren’t taken off the mailing list.
“Anyone who has already corrected the issue, who has submitted a request for November, we’ve got their requests, we’re going to mail them ballots. The postcard doesn’t impact that," he said. “We’re really sorry for the confusion and frustration that this has caused. Our initial effort and attempt was trying to help these voters and make people aware so that we could make this process go smoothly, and unfortunately, the culmination of all these things has made it more confusing than it should have been.”
Ada County Elections is encouraging voters to cast their ballot by mail due to the coronavirus pandemic, but in-person voting will still be available.
If you still need to request a mail-in ballot for November, you’ll have to wait until August 26, due to the upcoming West Ada Supplemental Levy Vote on August 25.
If you’re unsure of whether the elections office has received your request, you can check the status on IdahoVotes.gov.
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