Ada County elections and local school districts introduce new voting opportunities for residents

Photo via Ada County Elections

As the 2024 general election approaches, local election offices and school districts are working to encourage Ada County residents to participate in this election season. 

On Sept. 23, 2024, The Boise School Board approved the decision to cancel all schools on Nov. 5, 2024 — Election Day. According to the Boise School District website, the Board of Trustees made the decision to cancel school due to expecting a high voter turnout for the Presidential Election and to “ensure a safe environment for both voters and students”. Polling places will be placed across various schools in the Boise School District. 

Dave Wagers, president of the Board of Trustees for Boise School District, said that the idea to shut down schools came after a discussion with West Ada School District following their decision to close down schools for Election Day. 

“The impetus was overall awareness and I think getting to understand the kind of turnout we’re going to have for this election,” Wagers said. “I was in a meeting with the Ada County Clerk [and they felt] that 80% of [registered] voters are going to vote in this upcoming election, so there could be long lines at polling places.” 

Wagers added that the decision to shut down schools for Election Day was to avoid the voting process from becoming a distraction for students and staff.  

Wagers said he hopes decisions like these encourage Idahoans to vote in this upcoming election. 

“It raises the awareness, we’re closing schools because we prioritize voting,” Wagers said. “We also prioritize student safety, those are two things. We always prioritize student safety, that’s the first thing. If we can prioritize voting for our constituents, that’s part of our democracy.” 

Ada County Elections launched the Mobile Voting Unit on Oct. 15, 2024, an initiative to “bring the vote to the people”, creating an opportunity for people to participate in early voting. The Mobile Voting Unit will travel across various parks, libraries, and schools in Ada County for the month of October. 

Ada County Clerk Trent Tripple said that the idea for the Mobile Voting Unit originated from Secretary of State Phil McGrane. The Mobile Voting Unit’s purpose is to bring early voting to people who don’t live near polling stations and to reduce long voting lines on Election Day. 

“There was a time when we had a lot fewer precincts. Some of the precincts had quite a few registered voters at them,” Tripple said. “For most elections, that’s not an issue, but for a Presidential Election, it is a huge issue because it ends up creating long waiting lines, and we want to do everything we can to minimize that wait, because then we feel it’s disenfranchising voters who don’t have several hours to wait in line to vote.”

According to Tripple, Ada County Elections anticipates around 200 to 250 people a day using the Mobile Voting Unit depending on factors such as weather. 

The Mobile Voting Unit is scheduled to be at the Boise State Student Union Building on Oct. 23 and Oct. 24 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Sawyer Crenshaw, president of Boise State’s Political Science Association, shared how the Mobile Voting Unit provides accommodations for busy students’ looking to register or cast their votes. 

“I think having that Mobile Voting Unit and now getting people ready to take that next step and actually fill out their ballots and turn them in, that’s really exciting,” Crenshaw said. “Especially for people [like] myself, I’m super busy as a student, I think most students are. I think it’ll be really good to throw that opportunity right in front of them.”

Among the 1,042,931 registered voters in Idaho, just over 154,000 are in the 18-29 age group. Crenshaw highlighted the importance of young adults’ participation to vote in this general election and future elections.

“A lot of the most active age group is the oldest age group, they’re the most consistent voters,” Crenshaw said. “As dark as it is to say sometimes, they’re not always going to be around for a lot of the things that get implemented. So it’s important for us to set our own future.”

Crenshaw is optimistic that the Mobile Voting Unit will encourage consistent voting habits for the younger generation. 

“I hope that everyone who votes using the Mobile Voting Unit gets a taste for it and wants to vote every other election of their lifetime,” Crenshaw said. “That’s always the goal, but I think it will [impact long-term voting habits]. I think having that accessibility is just that nice extra step, sometimes that’s all it takes to get somebody who would otherwise not vote to vote.” 

Boise State Sociology Professor Julia Broderick believes that the presence of a Mobile Voting Unit on campus could impact the community’s perception of voter accessibility through “symbolic interactionism”, a theory that focuses on how individuals in a community understand meaning through their own social interactions. 

“It has the potential to show the broader community that this is on the minds of the student body at BSU,” Broderick said in an email response to The Arbiter. “Perhaps it will be a reminder for others outside of BSU to go vote, make a plan and engage in the election process.” 

Broderick added that implementing a Mobile Voting Unit at Boise State University can help college students who may face barriers with traditional polling places such as distance get the access they need to cast their votes for this upcoming election.

“Commuting and navigating school and responsibilities is already so challenging for so many students,” Broderick said. “I hope that this will be one less thing for students to worry about.”

The last day the Mobile Voting Unit will be available is Nov. 1 at the Star Library. Details regarding in-person voting or Election Day voting can be found at VoteIdaho.gov

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