Idaho certifies primary results, opening recount window for counties
Idaho’s primary results are now official, starting the 20-day recount clock for any close county race. No statewide outcomes changed, and two races elsewhere were decided by coin flip.
Idaho’s primary election is now locked in, and that matters immediately for Kootenai County candidates and voters because the official count starts the 20-day window for any recount request. The State Board of Canvassers certified the May 19 results Tuesday at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise, closing the counting phase and putting the final numbers on the record.
The board said it reviewed eight randomly selected county audits, along with canvass results from all 44 Idaho counties, before giving final approval. Secretary of State Phil McGrane said he felt good about the election and the work done by local election officials across the state. He also said no statewide or legislative race fell within Idaho’s free-recount threshold of 0.1 percent, which means the certification did not trigger any automatic statewide recount fight.
For Kootenai County, the practical effect is that the primary now stands as the official baseline for November and for any local campaign that believes a result was close enough to challenge. Idaho law allows recount requests to be filed within 20 days of the applicable canvass for state and federal offices. The state pays for recounts in federal, state and legislative-district contests when the margin is less than 0.1 percent or five votes, whichever is greater.
The final official turnout for the 2026 primary came in at 30.1 percent, a slight rise from the 28 percent turnout recorded in the 2024 primary. Idaho Capital Sun had reported preliminary turnout at about 30.3 percent, above the long-running median primary turnout of about 28.1 percent since 2000. The numbers suggest Idaho voters continued to show up at a healthier rate than the historical norm, even as absentee and early voting remained a major part of the election.
Election-day participation also stood out. A reported 11,087 Idahoans registered to vote and cast ballots on election day itself, underscoring that in-person voting still played a meaningful role in the May 19 primary. The state also noted that two local races elsewhere in Idaho ended in exact ties and were decided by coin flip, a reminder that even a carefully audited election can produce razor-thin outcomes.
Idaho’s post-election audit teams had already drawn Ada, Butte, Canyon, Franklin, Gooding, Lemhi, Owyhee and Power counties at random on May 29, with hand counts and ballot comparisons conducted June 1-5. Under state rules, Idaho holds primary elections on the third Tuesday in May in even-numbered years, with polls open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The results and canvass reports are posted through VoteIdaho.gov, where the state’s election machinery now turns from counting to the final legal period for challenges.
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