A noticeable pattern is emerging as Kootenai County voters fill out party affiliation forms before the approaching primary election.

Take a wild guess what that pattern is.

So far, 8,011 county voters have checked Republican as their party affiliation, according to the county Elections Office. Only 926 have marked Democrat affiliation on their forms.

"No, I'm not that surprised," said Carrie Phillips, county elections manager. "Just because most of the candidates on the ballot are on the Republican ballot."

And, she noted, "our county just tends to be more conservative."

Phillips pointed out that most of the candidates for the primary election are on the Republican ballot, closed to only Republican voters this year.

Multiple races have only Republican candidates, including the county sheriff race with three candidates, the county prosecutor election with two candidates, and the races for district 1 and district 3 commissioner seats that have five and three candidates each. Legislative district 2 seat B also has 4 Republican candidates, and only one Democrat candidate.

Few races on the sample Democrat primary ballot on the Elections Department website have more than one Democrat candidate running.

The largely Republican races explain voters' tendency to paint themselves red, said Tina Jacobson, chair of the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee.

"If you want to have any say at all, you have to vote in the Republican party," she said.

That is bolstered, Jacobson said, by the fact that there are candidates this year who have ran as Democrats before and now have an R by their names.

"Liberals who normally would've been liberals, since the Democrats are on life support here, they switch to the Republican party," Jacobson said. "This isn't rocket science."

Jacobson sees that as almost a hindrance to the party locally, she added, with such a range of philosophies resulting in Republicans breaking into different factions.

"A lot of people came over because we're the only game in town, and without any Democrats to fight, we fight each other," she said.

Jacobson also agreed the high affiliation number reflects the conservative history of the region, which she attributes to the retiring demographics settling here.

Paula Neils, chair of the Kootenai County Democratic Central Committee, said many Democrat voters are likely switching over to vote on the races that will be decided on the Republican ballot.

"There isn't much choice or excitement to affiliate Democrat," Neils said.

Neils isn't disappointed about that, she said.

"I hope it will help moderate the choice, because there are some extreme people who are on the ballot," she said. "The people who are Democrats registering as Republicans are saying, 'We'd like to get somebody on the ballot who's more moderate and reasonable.'"

Democrat Mark Reid confessed as he was walking into the county Elections Office on Thursday afternoon that he was going to mark Republican on his party affiliation form.

"It was a difficult decision," the Hayden Lake resident said.

But Reid wanted to have a say in the Republican races, he said, out of concern about some of the candidates.

"I think the Constitution party is taking over the Republican party," he said.

Party affiliation forms, which voters must fill out to vote in the May 15 primary, are available at the Elections Office at 1808 N. Third St. in Coeur d'Alene.

Party affiliation is also included on absentee forms. Voters can also fill out their party affiliation on the day of the primary election.

Tuesday is the final day the Elections Office will have extended hours from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. for folks to vote absentee in person. Otherwise the building is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sample ballots and polling locations are available on the county website at www.kcgov.us/elections.

For questions, call the Elections Office at 446-1030.

Neils said she hopes to see more affiliation forms filled out.

"I would like to see more people register, because it indicates an interest in the primary," she said.