If state superintendent hopeful Sherri Ybarra votes on Election Day, it will be the first time the Republican has cast a ballot in a November general election while living in Mountain Home.
According to Elmore County election records, Ybarra has not voted for a governor, a state superintendent, a president or a state legislator in a general election since moving to Mountain Home in 1996.
Ybarra did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Idaho Education News Tuesday — including messages emailed to her and emails and phone calls to campaign spokeswoman Melinda Nothern.
When asked about her voting history last month, Ybarra made it sound as if skipping an election was a rare occurrence.
“We have all missed an election or two in our lifetime, and I am not exempt from that,” Ybarra said during a Sept. 26 City Club of Boise candidate forum.
Idaho Education News has already reported that Ybarra did not vote in the 2012 general election, when voters overturned Propositions 1,2 and 3 after a contentious statewide debate over K-12 policy. The controversial education overhaul was authored by State Superintendent Tom Luna, the Republican Ybarra hopes to succeed next month.
But based on voting records reviewed Tuesday morning, Ybarra actually missed at least 15 of 17 primary or general elections between 1998 and 2012. Ybarra moved to Mountain Home sometime in 1996; depending on the precise date, she did not vote in either eight or nine consecutive general elections. Click here to continue reading this story from Idaho Education News.