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| County Clerk Glenda Poston |
The Boundary County County Clerk, Glenda Poston, is the chief
elections officer for the entire county. Election laws specify
the duties of the County Clerk as Clerk of the District Court in
the electoral process (Idaho Code 32-112).
For questions on elections and voting in Boundary County, call
her or Deputy Clerk Cherry Grainger at (208) 267-2242, or visit
the
clerk's website.
Boundary County Clerk
PO Box 419
Bonners Ferry, Idaho 83805
Phone: 208-267-2242
Fax: 208-267-7814
gposton@boundarycountyid.org
!! ALL VOTERS MUST SHOW VALID ID OR SIGN AFFIDAVIT !! |
Registering to Vote
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In order to register to vote in Boundary County, you must be a
U.S. citizen, have resided within Boundary County for a minimum
of 30 days prior to the election and be 18 years of age or
older.
You cannot register to vote if you've been convicted of a felony
and have not yet had your civil rights restored.
You can register to vote in the Clerk's office at the Boundary
County Courthouse. Boundary County residents serving on active
military duty anywhere in the world can register by mail using
mail-in military registration forms, available at any United
States military installation. If you register by mail, please
include a photocopy of legal identification.
Whether you walk in or mail in to register, the registration
form must be in the Clerk's Office or postmarked at least 25
days prior to the election in which you wish to vote. Mail
registrations for Boundary County to County Clerk, P.O. Box 419,
Bonners Ferry, ID 83805.
Voters can also register at the polls prior to casting their
ballots. You'll need valid identification, such as an Idaho
drivers license or identification card and proof of residency
(utility bills, etc.). Information required to register, whether
by mail, walk-in or at the polls includes your name, sex, postal
and physical address, date of birth and length of residency. |
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Voter Registration Form
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Where to Vote
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Visit the Idaho Secretary of State's interactive web site,
IdahoVotes.gov,
to identify your exact residence location and get step-by-step
driving instructions to your polling place. PLEASE NOTE: When
using this site, you must enter your new physical address,
including your house number and the first three letters of your
street name.
There are currently six precincts within Boundary County:
Bonners Ferry/Kootenai, North Bonners Ferry, Valley View,
Copeland, Moyie and Naples. To see the Boundary County Voting
Precincts Map,
click here.
Polling sites are subject to change and such changes will be
announced on the county website, in the local newspaper and on
this site prior to the election. Polling sites are open from 8
a.m. to 8 p.m. on election days. Current polling sites are:
| Precinct |
Location |
| Bonners Ferry/Kootenai |
Fairgrounds Exhibit Hall |
| Copeland |
Mt. Hall Elementary |
| Moyie Springs |
Moyie Springs City Hall |
| Naples |
South Boundary Fire Station #1 |
| North Bonners Ferry |
Fairgrounds Exhibit Hall |
| Valley View |
Fairgrounds Exhibit Hall |
| Walk-in Absentee |
Boundary County Courthouse |
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Absentee Ballots
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Those who cannot or choose not to go to the polls on election
day can cast their vote by absentee ballot. Those wishing to
vote absentee can pick up applications for absent elector's
ballot at the Clerk's office or by using the link below.
Absentee ballot applications must be turned in each year you
wish to vote absentee. The Boundary County Courthouse is an
absentee polling site prior to election day. Registered voters
outside the county should submit their application for absent
elector's ballot allowing ample mail time prior to the election.
Completed ballots must be received no later than 8 p.m. on
election day in the Clerk's Office. |
•
2018 Absentee Voter Request
Form •
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Idaho Military and Overseas Citizens
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The Federal Voting
Assistance Program (FPCA) has a form provided by
federal law to register and / or request an absentee ballot. You
are eligible to use an FPCA application if you are a(n):
• Member of the Uniformed Services (including Army, Navy, Air Force,
Marine Corps, Coast Guard)
• Merchant Marine
• Eligible family member of the above
• Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service, and Commissioned Corps
of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• United States citizens employed by the Federal Government residing
outside the United States
• Private United States citizens residing outside the United States
• You must be eligible to vote in Idaho to use the FPCA to register and /
or request an absentee ballot from Idaho.
You are eligible to vote in Idaho if you:
• will be at least 18 years old on election day;
• are a citizen of the United States, and;
• are an Idaho resident
Residence is defined in the Idaho Election Code as “…Principal
or primary home or place of abode is that home or place in which
his habitation is fixed and to which a person, whenever he is
absent, has the present intention of returning after a departure
or absence therefrom, regardless of the duration of absence.”
FPCA’s may be obtained by eligible voters from voting assistance
officers within their branch of service, from a U.S. consulate
or embassy, and from the Federal Voting Assistance Program of
the Department of Defense, Washington D.C. 20301.
Idaho specific instructions for completing the FPCA are
available online at the Federal Voting Assistance web site in
PDF format.
• Print out the Idaho FPCA.
• Complete the FPCA, sign and mail it to your county clerk. To register
and request an absentee ballot, your FPCA must be postmarked by
the 25th day before the election. If you are already registered
and only wish to request an absentee ballot, the County Clerk
must receive your FPCA or a written application requesting a
ballot by 5 p.m. on thesixth day before the election. We
encourage you to mail your FPCA or ballot request in as early as
possible.
• Vote your ballot and return it to your county clerk. (It must be
received by the election office by 8 p.m. on election day.) |
Primary Elections
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Beginning in 2011, a law went into effect that restricts an
elector to voting only in the primary election of the political
party for which he or she is registered.
The purpose of primary elections in the State of Idaho is to
allow members of a recognized political party to select that
party’s nominees to go on the general election ballot. Primary
elections often are referred to as “party primaries.”
As a result of a federal court decision in Idaho Republican
Party v. Ysursa, the 2011 Idaho Legislature passed House Bill
351 implementing a closed primary system. Persons who are not
members of a party may not participate in the selection of that
party’s nominees. However, Idaho law does allow the political
parties the option of opening their primary elections to
“unaffiliated” voters and members of other political parties if
they so choose. The party chairman must notify the Secretary of
State six months prior to the primary if the party intends to
open its primary election to those outside the party.
So in primary elections, unless the party chooses to allow
others outside the party to participate in its primary election,
only registered voters of a political party may vote to select
their party’s nominees. In other words, at primary elections,
registered Republicans may vote only for Republican candidates,
and registered Democrats may vote only for Democratic
candidates.
Persons who are registered as “unaffiliated” may not vote for
partisan candidates in primary elections unless the party
decides to allow them. However, an unaffiliated voter may
affiliate with a party up to or on election day and vote in that
party's election.
Independent candidates appear on the ballot only at the general
election.
Electors can designate their party affiliation with the
Democratic, Republican, Constitution or Libertarian Party or
select no party affiliation (Unaffiliated) in any of the
following ways:
•
Fill out a new Voter Registration Card
•
Fill out a Party Affiliation Declaration form
There are elections on nonpartisan issues scheduled to be held
in conjunction with primaries, such as judicial elections, bond
or levy elections or possibly state or local question elections.
All registered voters are entitled to vote on nonpartisan issues
during primaries.
Party registration requirements have no effect on general
election procedures. At general elections, all voters receive
exactly the same ballot and may vote for any candidate whose
name appears on it, without regard to the political affiliation
of the candidate or the voter. |
Changing Party Affiliation
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For a primary election, an elector may change their political
party affiliation or become “unaffiliated” by filing a signed
form with the county clerk no later than the 10th Friday prior
to such primary election, as provided for in Idaho Code §
34-704.
An “unaffiliated” elector may affiliate with the party of the
elector's choice by filing a signed form up to and including
election day. The application form for an absentee ballot
described in Idaho Code § 34-1002, may also be used for this
purpose.
An “unaffiliated” elector may affiliate with the party of the
elector's choice on or before election day, by declaring such
political party affiliation to the poll worker. The poll worker
shall then record in the poll book the elector's choice. After
the primary election, the county clerk shall record the party
affiliation so recorded in the poll book as part of such
elector's record within the voter registration system as
provided for in Idaho Code § 34-437A. |
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