Idahoans riled up and ready to vote, big turnout expected
Idaho voters are riled up and ready to vote, with a contentious school-reform debate reverberating in the state's airwaves and decisions looming on every seat in the Legislature, key local races, two constitutional amendments, Congress and more. Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa is predicting that 78 percent of the state's registered voters will cast ballots, and forecasting a long night of ballot-counting before final results are tallied. Some large counties have advised election-night workers their shifts could run to 5 a.m. the next day.
"Early voting has been heavy," Ysursa said. "Certainly we think the presidential year obviously drives turnout - Gov. (Mitt) Romney's very strong in this state. And it's obvious Propositions 1, 2 and 3, with the campaign spending getting these messages out, is going to be a catalyst for turnout." You can read my full story here, advancing Tuesday's election, from Sunday's Spokesman-Review; and here's a link to my Sunday column on laptop-funding math.