Polls close Nov. 3 in Cascade County; 12,602 ballots accepted so far

Posted on October 27, 2026 by Jenn Rowell

With one week to go before polls close on Nov. 3, the Cascade County elections office has accepted 12,602 ballots.

The office had rejected 77 ballots, which were all for no signature or a mismatched signature on the outer envelope, according to Terry Thompson, county elections administrator.

So far, 1,117 ballots were returned undeliverable.

Those numbers are as of Oct. 24 since three election staffers were out sick on Oct. 26 and they weren’t able to scan ballots, Thompson said.

Ballots in the mail for Nov. 3 election; local candidate profiles

The accepted ballots are about 35 percent of the 35,957 absentee ballots mailed on Oct. 9. Voters have continued to register and receive ballots in the meantime.

The elections office notifies voters whose ballots have been rejected in an effort to get the issue resolved by 5 p.m. Nov. 4 so their ballot can be counted.

Voters can check their voter registration status, sample ballot and track their ballot on the state’s My Voter page.

County elections office expanding hours ahead of November election

Thompson said that for the November election, ballot envelopes missing the birth year, or with an incorrect birth year, won’t be rejected since a district court judge had ruled earlier this week that the 2025 law requiring birth years was unconstitutional.

The box to fill in birth year remains on the envelope solely because ballots were printed before the judge’s ruling, Thompson said.

The Cascade County elections office is extending its hours 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.

Democrats support Deroche for clerk and recorder, single candidate for the seat on November ballot

The federal general election is Nov. 3 and regular registration ended at 5 p.m. Oct. 5.

Late registration began Oct. 6 and runs through noon on Nov. 2.

Same-day registration is done on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Thompson told County Commissioners during their Sept. 2 work session that they were “proposing that we give this a try.”

Moore, Halberg withdraw from county races

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.

Cascade County primary election preliminary results

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.

Polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Day, but in recent years, lines have stretched on late into the night for federal elections. Election officials, usually with the help of a Cascade County Sheriff’s deputy, mark the last person in line at 8 p.m. and voting continues until that last person has cast their ballot.

Voters are encouraged to update their voter registration or register to vote before Nov. 3, Thompson has said several times publicly in recent months.

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.

Filing opens for county elections

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

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