WALLACE — Election day is right around the corner and many Shoshone County voters will be able to have their say in a few contested races on the ballot.

Participating precincts will open up to voters the morning of May 18 and depending on their place of residence, voters could see 1-3 separate races on their ballot.

Those who utilize the services of Central Shoshone County Water District will be able to choose three candidates from a list of five for the district's board of directors. Those candidates include Douglas Bayer, Ron Corneil, Andy Helkey, Robert “Bob” Hickey and Rod Plank.

For Cataldo Water District customers, they will be able to select two candidates from a list of three for their respective water board. Those candidates include Eddy W. Hanson, Derek Michael Jarvey and Don McCarver.

Lastly, those who reside in the Consolidated Free Library District (west end of the Silver Valley) will be able to select two candidates from a selection of four. Those include Robert Fish, Rachelle Ottosen, Vanessa Robinson and Michele Veale — all of which reside in Kootenai County.

Shoshone County will hold both in-person and absentee voting in this election, but will be applying all of the COVID-19 precautions for in-person voting that they have in the past.

This include separate entrance and exit locations being marked at each polling location and social distancing of 6 feet between voters will be required.

Due to the limited size of the polling locations, voters may be required to stand in lines outside the building until they can safely self-distance inside the polling location.

Poll workers and all voters will be required to wear masks when inside the polling locations. Plexiglass screens will be placed on all registration tables to separate the poll workers and voters.

As of the May 7 absentee application deadline, a total of 98 absentee ballots had been sent out by the county for the May 2021 election. The deadline for those to be returned is May 18.

If you are unsure of your voter registration status, visit www.idahovotes.gov website. If you do not have access to the website and are not sure, please contact the County Clerk’s office at 208-752-1264.

The Shoshone News-Press offered all candidates the chance to submit a candidate profile to be included in the Friday, May 14 edition. Profiles of the candidates who responded can be found inside the May 14 print edition or at www.shoshonenewspress.com under the records tab.