Federal court orders five Ada County polling places to stay open an extra hour, ‘til 9 p.m.

U.S. District Judge Lynn Winmill has ordered Ada County to keep five polling places open an extra hour, until 9 p.m., after the Idaho Democratic Party went to court arguing that moves of the five polling plates weren’t adequately advertised before voters headed to the polls today.

The five: Precinct 1602, Collister Community Church (former location: Collister United Methodist Church); Precinct 1711, BSU Alumni & Friends Center (former location: Euclid Community Church of the Nazarene); Precinct 1806, Ada County Indigent Services Office (former location: Brookdale Assisted Living); Precinct 1810, Our Lady of the Rosary Church (former location: Riverside Elementary); and Precinct 1901, Hidden Springs Community Clubhouse (former location: Hidden Springs Fire Dept.).

The Democratic Party argued that late voters who arrived at what they thought was their polling places just before the close of voting at 8 p.m. wouldn’t have time to get to the new locations. The party asked for an extra two hours; the judge granted one hour.

“The Idaho Democratic Party has a fundamental belief that our state and our nation are stronger when everyone participates in the democratic process,” said Sally Boynton Brown, Democratic Party executive director. “That means that we want to do everything we can to make sure every Idahoan gets to vote.”

You can read the judge’s two-page order here . It also orders Ada County to put up signs at the five original polling locations no later than 7 tonight, announcing both the extended hours and the new voting locations.