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Idaho's Primary Election Won't Be Postponed

Idaho Secretary of State

Idaho’s May 19 primary election will not move to a different date, but it will be conducted differently.

The governor’s office today [Monday] announced the election will be all vote-by-mail. He issued a statement saying it became clear the state wouldn’t have access to enough polling places and workers to make voting at the polls possible.

That was one of the concerns voiced Friday by Secretary of State Lawerence Denney, who asked the governor to push the election back to at least mid-June. Denney argued there was no assurance that voters would be safe if they congregated at voting sites.

The governor’s office says the state will next have to work out the details of an all-mail election, including a voter registration deadline. The governor urged voters to request their ballots as soon as possible. You can do that by going to the Secretary of State’s website.

Denney says he’s working with county clerks to develop an outreach program to spread the word about the change in procedure for this election.