Idaho’s Voter Turnout Lags Behind the Rest of the Country

They're trying to make it easier on us to get out and vote, with the mobile truck taking ballots around the Treasure Valley during early voting this week.  And the push is there to get us to the polls on November 8th too.

Voters don't always jump at the chance to cast a ballot, and that keeps Idaho in the lower half of the US when it comes to voter turnout.

Idaho ranks 37th, with a voter turnout rate of 61.1%, according to 24/7 Wall Street.  Our highest turnout was during the 2012 presidential election when 63.9% went to the polls.

Presidential election years always draw more voters than off years, so they're hoping we'll improve our numbers on November 8th.

Here's an interesting point that 24/7 Wall Street raised.  They said those with higher education levels tend to vote the most, and in Idaho, just 25% of the adult population has a college degree.  That's more than 5 percentage points below the national share.  Do you think that matters?

This election is driving people bananas on social media, and it's even causing people to lose friends and sig others. So exercise your right to vote!  It's the most powerful thing we can do.

We're not only picking the next President.  We have a say in several important local races too.  Early voting ends November 4th, and the General Election is November 8th, and once you cast that ballot you can feel good knowing you did everything you could do.  If you don't vote, well, others will make the decision for you.

Should we set a goal of 75 percent voter turnout?  Let's do this.