Runoff elections, special election in 3 Idaho counties

BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) – Following the Nov. 7 local elections across Idaho, three Idaho counties will conduct an election on Tuesday, Dec. 5.

Ada County will conduct a runoff election for Eagle Mayor, and Elmore County will conduct a runoff election for Mountain Home Mayor. Additionally, a special election has been declared in Jerome County after a judge voided the results of the Nov. 7 Valley School District Trustee Zone 4 race after an error was discovered.

In Ada and Elmore counties, none of the mayoral candidates in Eagle and Mountain Home reached the statutory threshold for those cities of 50% of the votes cast in the Nov. 7 election, requiring a runoff between the two candidates with the highest number of votes. State law requires the runoff to be held within 30 days following the general election date.

In Jerome County, two voters residing in the same household were incorrectly issued an absentee ballot in the Nov. 7 election for Valley School District Trustee Zone 5, though the voters reside in Zone 4. Results for the Valley School District Trustee Zone 4 race show candidate Michael Lakey receiving 48 votes and candidate Matthew Kimmel receiving 47 votes, a difference of one vote between the two candidates. In consultation with the Secretary of State, Jerome County Clerk Cy Lootens petitioned the district court for a judicial review of the election to determine the appropriate course of action to ensure a fair and accurate outcome (see Idaho Statute 34-220). A judge voided the results, necessitating a special election for voters in Valley School District Trustee Zone 4.

Polls will be open on Tuesday, Dec. 5 for eligible voters in these jurisdictions from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Election results will be available HERE.