Record absentee votes recorded

An extra pile of absentee ballots was almost a given at this year’s elections, thanks to the ongoing pandemic creating concern for those who are more vulnerable to COVID-19 to visit their polling station in person. The actual number of absentee ballots received for the primary elections, however, was record-breaking.

The number of absentee ballots requested for the primary was 908. Of those, 827 were then returned to be counted.

“That was a 91% turnout on our absentees,” says County Clerk Linda Fritz.

In 2016, the biggest elections in recent history for absentees, 602 absentee ballots were sent out – two thirds the amount requested this year. Of those, 591 were returned, which is a 98% return.

The lower return rate this year could have been caused by some voters asking for absentee ballots as a safety measure, in case the pandemic made it unsafe for them to visit a polling station. Some of those people may have then voted in person.

“I know some of them did as they surrendered their absentee ballot,” Fritz says. Those surrendered ballots were marked as spoiled.

Fritz is expecting the number of absentee ballots to be even higher next time around.

“There will be more in the general,” she says. “I’ve got more requests than I had for the primary already.”

Absentee ballots can be requested up until the day before the November election, but Fritz warns that it’s not a good idea to wait due to the inevitable delays of mailing the ballot to the voter and having the voter mail it back.

If you requested an absentee ballot for the primary election, you are already on record. If not, Fritz recommends calling the Crook County Clerk’s Office at 283-1323 as soon as possible to make your request and no later than two weeks before the general.

“You will have to have information available so you can answer the pertinent questions, such as name, date of birth, social security number,” she says.

“If you are picking one up for a family member, you will have to give us something in writing from that family member that allows us to send it with you.”

Of the 3842 total registered voters in Crook County, 2683 cast their ballot for the primary. This means the overall turnout for the election last week was 70%.