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Some Ada County absentee voters receive postcard; 'Will not be mailed a ballot'

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ADA COUNTY, Idaho — With election season gearing up and people registering to vote, some decide whether they want to vote in person or through an absentee ballot.

In Ada County, some voters received postcards instead of their absentee ballots in the mail.

Voters can request an absentee ballot up to 11 days before an election. Then, fill it out at their home and mail it back in.

One woman told Idaho News 6, she requested an absentee ballot almost a month before the upcoming August election, but received the postcard instead, telling her she wasn't going to get a ballot mailed to her at all.

According to the Ada County Clerk, Phil McGrane, these cards were sent out to almost 30,000 people.

"This is simply to let those voters know if you want to have your ballot mailed to you, whether its the August election or the November election, you need to be sure to request one or to take advantage of the in-person options," McGrane says.

Since some voters requested their ballots so early, the online request form for the August and November elections was not yet active.

"These were voters who had requested a ballot to be mailed to them in the May election," McGrane says.

The postcards were meant to let voters know they need to request another absentee ballot or chose to vote in-person because they did not have the chance to request upcoming election ballots back in May.

"This group of folks did not get that option, and we were simply concerned that people might be expecting a ballot was going to be mailed to them when it wasn't going to be because we hadn't seen a request," McGrane says.

McGrane also says there is a group of voters who have requested another ballot for the upcoming elections but still received the card. They still will be able to cast a vote.

"There were some voters who had already gone in and requested their absentee ballot and just the way we had mailed that we didn't capture those people who had recently corrected it and had already requested it. They are going to get a ballot," McGrane says.

To check your request status or fill a request for an absentee ballot, go to idahovotes.gov.