What is a runoff election? East Idaho will have three in December

IDAHO FALLS – A runoff election will take place on Dec. 2 for two races in Idaho Falls and one in Pocatello.

Just a handful of Idaho cities have runoff elections, which are required if no candidate receives 50% of the vote plus one, according to Julie Hancock, Bannock County Elections Administrator.

“This (runoff) election is going to cost $60,000 after we’re just coming off of an $86,000 election,” Hancock said.

She said, however, that the city will reimburse the county.

Most other cities throughout Idaho have removed the 50% plus one rule by ordinance, favoring instead a simple majority.

Idaho Falls and Pocatello are runoff city holdouts.

“Cities can decide if they want to have a runoff election,” said Bonneville County Clerk Chris Poulter. That decision is part of a well-established city ordinance addressing local elections.

As a result of that ordinance, voters in Idaho Falls will go to the polls again to select a mayor and a city council member, as no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in two races on Tuesday.

Mayoral candidate Jeffrey Alldridge received 47.17% of the vote to Lisa Burtenshaw’s 46.65%, which represents a difference of just 62 votes.

The other Idaho Falls race that will appear on the Dec. 2 runoff election ballot is a race for Idaho Falls City Council Seat 2. The top two vote-getters in Tuesday’s election were Brandon Lee and Teresa Dominick. Lee had 33.08% of the vote over Dominick’s 20.51%, a difference of 1,395 votes.

Similar to the city-wide race, which requires voters to live within the city boundaries, not all Idaho Falls voters will see the Lee vs. Dominich race on the ballot; only those living within the Seat 2 voting district will see it.

In Pocatello

The Pocatello Mayor’s Office is also hanging on a Dec. 2 runoff election.

Tuesday’s election produced the top two finishers from a race of seven candidates.

Mark Dahlquist earned 40.21% of the vote over Greg Cates’ 30.83%, representing a difference of 3,938 votes, according to the final vote count on Tuesday night.

The incumbent mayor, Brian Blad received just 14.33% of the vote, placing him well out of a runoff chance.

Similar to Idaho Falls, registered voters who are residents of Pocatello will be eligible to vote in the Pocatello runoff election, which will include only the two mayoral candidates.

Additionally, voting will be conducted by precinct, meaning voters will return to their regular polling location to cast their ballots.

And, as was the case on Tuesday’s election, identification will be required to vote.

Voters who originally requested an absentee (mail-in) ballot will use the ballots that will be automatically sent to them.

For more information about the upcoming runoff election, voters can contact the county elections offices in Idaho Falls at (208) 529-1363 and in Pocatello at (208) 236-7333.

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