COEUR d'ALENE - The rule of thumb is the more far-reaching the issues, the higher the voter turnout.

Well, the issues affect the entire country so it shouldn't be a surprise that triple the amount of ballots from the primary election are expected to be counted tonight or early tomorrow morning.

Up for vote this year are a number of local and state races, as well as four proposed amendments to the Idaho Constitution.

But added to that is the memory of an economic collapse, its slow recovery and a mood of bipartisan angst surrounding a midterm review of a president's first term.

"It isn't the same old election," said voter Virginia Briscoe, who plans to cast her ballot today. "We're all worried."

Kootenai County expects 60 percent of the county to vote, around 45,000 ballots. That equals the expected state turnout and is 2 percent higher than county turnout for the 2006 midterm election.

It dwarfs the May 25 primary election, which saw 23 percent turnout, and well above the roughly 30 percent who came out and voted in November 2009.

"Part of it is the national mood," said Dan English, county clerk. "A lot of people are upset about certain things, and that's what elections are for."

Like Hayden resident Shauna Miller, who said she tends to lean conservative, and cast her absentee ballot a month ago, after considering recent political news troubling.

"I was a big fan of talk radio," she said. "I was probably swayed by that to get and out and vote, to let my voice be heard. I didn't like the way the country was going."

Briscoe's biggest concern is the partisan divide. She wants Congress to work together. If Republicans gain the numbers in the House and Senate that some expect, compromise might be a requirement if anything is to get done.

"Basically changing the diapers, trying something new," voter Sheldon Meurer described it. He said the economy is his biggest concern, and expects an uphill battle for many incumbents seeking re-election.

Governor, lieutenant governor, U.S. senator, 1st District congressman and secretary of state are all up for election in Idaho. So are Kootenai County positions such as clerk, coroner and commissioner. Overall, there are 20 candidates and five magistrate judges on the ballot. The judges aren't running against anyone, but each stands alone and it's asked whether they should retain their positions.

Not everyone is burning with voting fever. Presidential elections always generate the most interest, with 86 percent of registered Kootenai County voters casting ballots in November 2008.

Lillian Waiyaki just moved to Coeur d'Alene from California and didn't register in time, 20-year-old Dallas Chaffin said he would probably vote if he knew where to go, and Steve Seiver, 30, said he would likely vote today, but didn't think of it as different than any other election.

"It's just another day," he said.