Recent data show more Idaho voters are turning out for statewide elections than ever before, but many Idaho counties lag behind the U.S. average, which the Pew Research Center puts at about 56 percent.
An analysis of recent statewide balloting found residents of small, sparsely populated counties in the state consistently cast the most votes per capita, while mid-sized counties in southern Idaho often have the fewest.
Custer, Camas, and Butte counties consistently come out on top, averaging 60 percent or better over the last three general elections. In some elections, nearly three-quarters of eligible voters cast ballots there.
Researchers say that in general, rural counties tend to be older than urban ones, and older people vote more than younger people. Also, many of the more active voting communities have strong agricultural and farming ties, professions that are politically engaged.
On the urban side, Ada County falls somewhere in the middle, at 50 percent participation, while many of Idaho’s other large counties have some of the least-active voting populations in the state. Canyon, Kootenai, and Twin Falls counties average 40 to 45 percent. Of Idaho’s 44 counties, Jerome County has had the lowest voting participation in the last three general elections, with an average of 33 percent. Elmore, Owyhee, and Canyon counties also regularly end up at the bottom of the list, averaging fewer than 40 percent of eligible voters casting a ballot.
Regionally, Nez Perce County is at 46 percent; Latah County 48 percent; Clearwater County 45 percent; Idaho County 54 percent; and Lewis County 48 percent. (Idaho Statesman, AP)
