Updated Sept. 9 to correct the start date of weekday extended hours to Oct. 19
The Cascade County elections office is extending its hours in October to allow voters additional time to ensure their registration is current, register to vote, or get a replacement ballot, in an effort to avoid long lines on Election Day in November.
The federal general election is Nov. 3 and regular registration ends at 5 p.m. Oct. 5.
Late registration begins Oct. 6 through noon on Nov. 2.
Same-day registration is done on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Terry Thompson told County Commissioners during their Sept. 2 work session that they were “proposing that we give this a try.”
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Her proposal, which commissioners approved during their Sept. 8 meeting, extends the election office’s hours of operation for an additional 28 hours to be open:
- Monday through Friday, Oct. 19-30 from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 24 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 31 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Thompson said overtime costs had already been factored into the budget and she’d stagger employee shifts to cover the additional hours.
She said during the Sept. 2 work session that elections staff typically work overtime during the two weeks before an election, including weekends, so the additional operating hours aren’t considered a hardship.
Thompson said elections staff are typically scanning ballots nightly until about 10 p.m. in the weeks before an election.
She told commissioners that they’ll gather data during the additional operating hours to see how many people are served and whether it keeps lines down on Election Day.
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Polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Day, but in recent years, lines have stretched on late into the night for federal elections.
Voters are encouraged to update their voter registration or register to vote before Nov. 3, Thompson has said several times publicly in the last month.
The elections office will again be moving to Expo Park for Election Day on Nov. 2 and operate out of the Exhibition Hall on Nov. 3.
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Commissioners approved that plan during their Sept. 8 meeting with the following schedule:
- Oct. 30: Exhibition Hall setup begins but the elections office remains open in the Courthouse Annex
- Nov. 2: early counting of absentee ballots begins at 10 a.m. through 5 p.m. with elections staff and election judges; the elections office remains open in the Annex through 5 p.m. with limited staff
- Nov. 3: all elections operations will be exclusively at Exhibition Hall; the drop box at the Annex will be available from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; no elections staff will be working in the Annex
- Nov. 4: Exhibition Hall tear down; elections office resumes operations in the Annex with limited staff
Absentee ballots will be mailed Oct. 9.
Thompson is encouraging local voters to ensure their voter registration is up to date before ballots are mailed on Oct. 9.
The county races on the November ballot are:
Cascade County Commission
Tom Lynch (R)
Barbara Bessette (D)
Sheriff
Jesse Slaughter (R)
County Attorney
Josh Racki (R)
Clerk and Recorder
Lynn Deroche (R)
Public Administrator
Gerald Boland
Justice of the Peace, Department 1
Brian Bebbington
Robert Polich
Justice of the Peace, Department 2
Steven Fagenstrom
District Court Judge
John Parker
