Election administration in Idaho
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Election administration encompasses a state's voting policies, procedures, and enforcement. These include voter identification requirements, early and absentee/mail-in voting provisions, voter list maintenance methods, and more. Each state's voting policies dictate who can vote and under what conditions.
Below, you will find details on the following election administration topics in Idaho:
Poll times[edit]
- See also: State poll opening and closing times
In Idaho, all polls are open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. local time. In some instances, polls may open at 7:00 a.m., at the discretion of the local clerk. Idaho is split between Mountain and Pacific time zones. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.[2]
Voter registration[edit]
- Check your voter registration status here.
To register to vote in Idaho, one must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of the Idaho county in which he or she is registering for at least 30 days before the election, and at least 18 years old on or before Election Day.[3][4]
Registration in advance of election day may be completed online, in person at the county clerk's office, or by mail. The deadline to register to vote online is the 24th day before the election A registration application submitted by mail must be postmarked by the 25th day before the election. Voters may also register in-person at an early voting location or on Election Day.[3][5]
Idaho requires a photo ID and proof of residence to register to vote in person. According to the secretary of state's website, a valid photo ID is one of:[5]
- Idaho Driver’s License
- Idaho Identification Card
- Passport or Federal ID
- Tribal ID Card
- Concealed Weapons License issued by a county sheriff in Idaho
A valid proof of residence is one of:[5]
- Above photo ID with the correct address
- Proof of insurance
- Mortgage, lease, or rental agreement
- Property tax assessment, bill
- Utility bill (no cell bills)
- Bank/credit card statement
- Paystub/paycheck
- Intake document to a care facility
- Enrollment letter from an Idaho high school or university
- Letter from a social service agency
A voter registering to vote by a mail application must provide their Idaho driver's license number or their social security number. If the voter is registering for the first time they must also include a copy of a photo ID and proof of residence. Eligible documents are listed above.[3]
Automatic registration[edit]
Idaho does not practice automatic voter registration.
Online registration[edit]
- See also: Online voter registration
Idaho has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.
Same-day registration[edit]
Idaho allows same-day voter registration.
Residency requirements[edit]
Idaho law requires 30 days of residency in one of the state’s counties before a person may vote.
Verification of citizenship[edit]
Idaho does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury.
Verifying your registration[edit]
The page Search for My Voter Record, run by the Idaho Secretary of State's office, allows residents to check their voter registration status online.
Early and absentee/mail-in voting policy[edit]
Early voting[edit]
- See also: Early voting
Idaho permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website.
Early voting in Idaho varies by county. To find dates and times in your county, check with your county elections office here.
Early voting permits citizens to cast ballots in person at a polling place prior to an election. In states that permit no-excuse early voting, a voter does not have to provide an excuse for being unable to vote on Election Day. States that allow voters to cast no-excuse absentee/mail-in ballots in person are counted as no-excuse early voting states.
As of February 2024, 47 states and the District of Columbia permitted no-excuse early voting.
Absentee/mail-in voting[edit]
- See also: Absentee/mail-in voting
All voters are eligible to vote absentee in Idaho. There are no special eligibility requirements for voting absentee. To vote absentee, an application must be received by election officials no later than the 11th day preceding the election.[6][7]
Returning absentee/mail-in ballots[edit]
Voters in Idaho can return their absentee/mail-in ballot in person or by mail to the same office that issued the ballot, usually the county elections office. Ballots received after 8 p.m. on Election Day will not be counted.[7][8][9]
In Idaho, an absentee/mail-in ballot may be returned by a a person related to the voter, a member of their household, a caregiver, or a person who paid by the voter to return their ballot, in addition to election officials, common carriers, and postal workers. No candidate or person connected with a political party may collect and deliver and absentee/mail0in ballot, and no person may collect or deliver more than 10 ballots.[10]
Signature requirements and cure provisions[edit]
Absentee/mail-in ballots in Idaho include an affidavit that must be signed by the voter. If election judges determine that an absentee/mail-in ballot affidavit is insufficient, the ballot will not be counted. Idaho law does not include a cure provision, or a law allowing voters to correct an issue with the signature on their absentee/mail-in ballot.[11]
Was your absentee/mail-in ballot counted?[edit]
Idaho voters can use the Vote Idaho website provided by the Idaho Secretary of State to check whether or not the county election office has received their absentee/mail-in ballot.
Voter identification requirements[edit]
- See also: Voter ID in Idaho
- See also: Voter identification laws by state
Idaho requires voters to present photo identification while voting.[12]
The following list of accepted ID was current as of July 2024. Click here for the Idaho Secretary of State's page on accepted ID to ensure you have the most current information.
| “ | ” |
If a voter is unable to present accepted ID, he or she is allowed to sign a personal identification affidavit swearing to his or her identity. After signing the affidavit, he or she is issued a regular ballot.[12]
Click here to learn more about the background of Idaho' law.
As of April 2024, 35 states required voters to present identification in order to vote at the polls on Election Day. Of these states, 24 required voters to present identification containing a photograph, and 11 accepted other forms of identification. The remaining 16 states did not require voters to present identification in order to vote at the polls on Election Day.
Valid forms of identification differ by state. In certain states that require voters to provide identification, there may be exceptions that allow some voters to cast a ballot without providing an ID. To see more about these exceptions, see details by state. Commonly accepted forms of ID include driver's licenses, state-issued identification cards, and military identification cards.
Provisional ballot rules[edit]
Idaho does not have a provisional voting process.
Federal law requires most states to provide for a provisional balloting process (states that had enacted same-day voter registration processes as of 1993 were exempted from this requirement). As of March 2024, every state except Idaho and Minnesota had established some type of provisional voting process.[14]
Local election officials[edit]
Do you need information about elections in your area? Are you looking for your local election official? Click here to visit the U.S. Vote Foundation and use their election official lookup tool. |
Primary election type[edit]
- See also: Primary elections in Idaho
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. In Idaho, parties decide who may vote in their primaries. As of July 2024, the Democratic Party allows unaffiliated voters to vote in its primary, while the Republican Party only allows voters registered with its party to vote in its primary. Unaffiliated voters can choose to affiliate with a party on Election Day.[15][16][17]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Time off work for voting[edit]
Ballotpedia did not find a law specifying whether voters must be given time off from work to vote in this state. Nolo.com notes that states without such state laws may have administrative regulations or local ordinances pertaining to time off for voting and suggests calling your local board of elections or state labor department for more information.[18]
If you know of a relevant policy in this state, please email us.
As of September 2024, 28 states required employers to grant employees time off to vote. Within these 28 states, policies varied as to whether that time off must be paid and how much notice must be given.
Voting rules for people convicted of a felony[edit]
In Idaho, voting rights are automatically restored once people convicted of a felony complete their sentence, including prison, probation, and parole.[3][19]
Voting rights for people convicted of a felony vary from state to state. In the majority of states, people convicted of a felony cannot vote while they are incarcerated but may regain the right to vote upon release from prison or at some point thereafter.[20]
Voter list maintenance[edit]
All states have rules under which they maintain voter rolls—or, check and remove certain names from their lists of registered voters. Most states are subject to the parameters set by The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).[21] The NVRA requires states to make efforts to remove deceased individuals and individuals who have become ineligible due to a change of address. It prohibits removing registrants from voter lists within 90 days of a federal election due to change of address unless a registrant has requested to be removed, or from removing people from voter lists solely because they have not voted. The NVRA says that states may remove names from their registration lists under certain other circumstances and that their methods for removing names must be uniform and nondiscriminatory.[22]
When names can be removed from the voter list[edit]
Idaho law requires county election officials to remove the names of voters from the registered voting list if the individual:[23][24]
- Dies,
- Has not voted in the past four years, or
- Has been convicted of a felony or is imprisoned on conviction of a criminal offense.
Inactive voter list rules[edit]
Idaho does not maintain an inactive voter registration list. State law requires county election officials to remove the names of voters who have not voted in the past four years after each general election.[24]
The Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC)[edit]
According to its website, ERIC is a nonprofit corporation that is governed by a board of member-states. These member states submit voter registration and motor vehicle registration information to ERIC. ERIC uses this information, as well as Social Security death records and other sources, to provide member states with reports showing voters who have moved within their state, moved out of their state, died, have duplicate registrations in their state, or are potentially eligible to vote but are not yet registered. ERIC's website describes its funding as follows: "Members fund ERIC. New members pay a one-time membership fee of $25,000, which is reserved for technology upgrades and other unanticipated expenses. Members also pay annual dues. Annual dues cover operating costs and are based, in part, on the citizen voting age population in each state."[25]
By 2022, 33 states and the District of Columbia had joined ERIC. As of May 2024, 24 states and the District of Columbia were members in the ERIC program.[26]
As of July 2024, Idaho was not a participating member in ERIC.
Post-election auditing[edit]
Idaho state law requires post-election audits. The secretary of state selects by lot the counties and precincts to be audited and an audit is conducted after all primary and general elections and may be ordered for any or all federal elections, governor, the statewide office election having the narrowest percentage margin of votes, the statewide ballot question election having the narrowest percentage margin of votes, and one legislative office election within the county. Procedures for the audit must be announced at least 60 days before election day, and the audit must be completed within three days of the selection by lot of counties and precincts, and a report delivered by the day the state board meets to certify election results.[27][28]
Post-election audits check that election results tallied by a state's voting system match results from paper records, such as paper ballots filled out by voters or the paper records produced by electronic voting machines. Post-election audits are classified into two categories: audits of election results—which include traditional post-election audits as well as risk-limiting audits—and procedural audits.[29][30]
Typically, traditional post-election audits are done by recounting a portion of ballots, either electronically or by hand, and comparing the results to those produced by the state's voting system. In contrast, risk-limiting audits use statistical methods to compare a random sample of votes cast to election results instead of reviewing every ballot. The scope of procedural audits varies by state, but they typically include a systematic review of voting equipment, performance of the voting system, vote totals, duties of election officials and workers, ballot chain of custody, and more.
As of October 2024, 49 states and the District of Columbia had some form of post-election audit by law. Of these, 35 states and the District of Columbia required traditional post-election audits, while six states required risk-limiting post-election audits by law. Eight states used some other form of post-election audit, including procedural post-election audits.[31][32]
Election policy ballot measures[edit]
Ballotpedia has tracked the following ballot measures relating to election and campaign policy in Idaho.
- Idaho Ballot Access Restrictions, HB 644 (1998)
- Idaho Municipal Officer Election Removal, HJR 10 (1896)
- Idaho Remove Disqualification of County Assessors, SJR 6(b) (1910)
- Idaho Remove Disqualification of Sheriffs, SJR 6(c) (1910)
- Idaho Increase Supreme Court Membership, HJR 6 (1920)
- Idaho Election of County Officers, SJR 5 (1948)
- Idaho Voting Residence Requirement, SJR 6 (1962)
- Idaho Proposition 1, Top-Four Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative (2024)
- Idaho SJR 112, Simple Majority Vote for Citizen Initiatives and Allow Initiatives on General Election Ballots Amendment (1980)
[edit]
The table below lists bills related to election administration that have been introduced during (or carried over to) the current legislative session in Idaho. The following information is included for each bill:
- State
- Bill number
- Official name or caption
- Most recent action date
- Legislative status
- Topics dealt with by the bill
Bills are organized alphabetically, first by state and then by bill number. The table displays up to 100 results by default. To view additional results, use the arrows in the upper-right corner of the table. For more information about a particular bill, click the bill number. This will open a separate page with additional information.
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker[edit]
State election laws are changing. Keeping track of the latest developments in all 50 states can seem like an impossible job.
Here's the solution: Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker.
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- Ballotpedia's election experts provide daily updates on bills and other relevant political developments
- We translate complex bill text into easy-to-understand summaries written in everyday language
- And because it's from Ballotpedia, our Tracker is guaranteed to be neutral, unbiased, and nonpartisan
The Ballot Bulletin[edit]
The Ballot Bulletin is a weekly email that delivers the latest updates on election policy. The Ballot Bulletin tracks developments in election policy around the country, including legislative activity, big-picture trends, and recent news. Each email contains in-depth data from our Election Administration Legislation Tracker. You'll also be able to track relevant legislation, with links to and summaries of the bills themselves.
Click here to view recent issues and subscribe.
Ballot access[edit]
In order to get on the ballot in Idaho, a candidate for state or federal office must meet a variety of state-specific filing requirements and deadlines. These regulations, known as ballot access laws, determine whether a candidate or party will appear on an election ballot. These laws are set at the state level. A candidate must prepare to meet ballot access requirements well in advance of primaries, caucuses, and the general election.
There are three basic methods by which an individual may become a candidate for office in a state.
- An individual can seek the nomination of a state-recognized political party.
- An individual can run as an independent. Independent candidates often must petition in order to have their names printed on the general election ballot.
- An individual can run as a write-in candidate.
This article outlines the steps that prospective candidates for state-level and congressional office must take in order to run for office in Idaho. For information about filing requirements for presidential candidates, click here. Information about filing requirements for local-level offices is not available in this article (contact state election agencies for information about local candidate filing processes).
Redistricting[edit]
- See also: Redistricting in Idaho
Redistricting is the process by which new congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn. Each of Idaho's two United States Representatives and 105 state legislators are elected from political divisions called districts. United States Senators are not elected by districts, but by the states at large. District lines are redrawn every 10 years following completion of the United States census. The federal government stipulates that districts must have nearly equal populations and must not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.[33][34][35][36]
Idaho was apportioned 2 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2020 census, the same number it received after the 2010 census.
State process[edit]
- See also: State-by-state redistricting procedures
In 37 states, legislatures are primarily responsible for drawing congressional district lines. Seven states have only one congressional district each, rendering congressional redistricting unnecessary. Four states employ independent commissions to draw the district maps. In two states, politician commissions draw congressional district lines.
State legislative district lines are primarily the province of the state legislatures themselves in 37 states. In seven states, politician commissions draw state legislative district lines. In the remaining six states, independent commissions draw the lines.[37]
In Idaho, an independent commission is responsible for drawing both congressional and state legislative district lines. The commission is composed of six members.[38]
- One member is appointed by the majority leader of the Idaho State Senate.
- One member is appointed by the minority leader of the Idaho State Senate.
- One member is appointed by the majority leader of the Idaho House of Representatives.
- One member is appointed by the minority leader of the Idaho House of Representatives.
- The chairs of the state's two largest political parties each appoint one member.
According to the Idaho Constitution, no member may be an elected or appointed official while serving on the commission. The state constitution further requires that the commission produce draft congressional and state legislative maps within 90 days of the commission's formation. There is no explicit deadline for final plans.[38]
The state constitution requires that state legislative districts "be contiguous, and that counties be preserved intact where possible." State statutes require that both congressional and state legislative districts meet the following criteria:[38]
- County lines must be maintained "to the extent possible."
- Districts must "preserve traditional neighborhoods, communities of interest, and (if possible) voting precinct boundaries."
- Districts should not be "oddly shaped."
- In districts comprising more than one county or a portion thereof, "those constituent pieces must also be connected by a state or federal highway."
Election administration agencies[edit]
Election agencies[edit]
- See also: State election agencies
Individuals seeking additional information about voting provisions in Idaho can contact the following local, state, and federal agencies.
Idaho County Clerks
Idaho Secretary of State, Elections Division
- Physical Address: 700 West Jefferson St, Room E205
- Boise, Idaho 83702
- Mailing address: PO Box 83720
- Boise, Idaho 83720-0080
- Phone: 208-334-2852
- Email: elections@sos.idaho.gov
- Website: https://sos.idaho.gov
U.S. Election Assistance Commission
- 633 3rd Street NW, Suite 200
- Washington, DC 20001
- Phone: 301-563-3919
- Toll free: 1-866-747-1471
- Email: clearinghouse@eac.gov
- Website: https://www.eac.gov
Ballotpedia's election coverage[edit]
- United States Senate Democratic Party primaries, 2024
- United States House Democratic Party primaries, 2024
- Democratic Party gubernatorial primaries, 2024
- Democratic Party Secretary of State primaries, 2024
- Democratic Party Attorney General primaries, 2024
- State legislative Democratic primaries, 2024
- United States Senate Republican Party primaries, 2024
- United States House Republican Party primaries, 2024
- Republican Party gubernatorial primaries, 2024
- Republican Party Secretary of State primaries, 2024
- Republican Party Attorney General primaries, 2024
- State legislative Republican primaries, 2024
See also[edit]
- 2024 election dates and deadlines
- Voting in Idaho
- Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Idaho
- Redistricting in Idaho
Elections in Idaho[edit]
- Idaho elections, 2024
- Idaho elections, 2023
- Idaho elections, 2022
- Idaho elections, 2021
- Idaho elections, 2020
- Idaho elections, 2019
- Idaho elections, 2018
- Idaho elections, 2017
- Idaho elections, 2016
- Idaho elections, 2015
- Idaho elections, 2014
External links[edit]
Footnotes[edit]
- ↑ We use the term "absentee/mail-in voting" to describe systems in which requests or applications are required. We use the term "all-mail voting" to denote systems where the ballots themselves are sent automatically to all voters. We use the hyphenate term for absentee voting because some states use “mail voting” (or a similar alternative) to describe what has traditionally been called "absentee voting."
- ↑ Idaho Statutes, "Section 34-1101," accessed July 29, 2024
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Idaho Secretary of State, "Idaho Voter Registration Form," accessed July 29, 2024
- ↑ Idaho Secretary of State, "Citizenship & Voting," accessed July 29, 2024
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Idaho Secretary of State - Vote Idaho, "Registering To Vote," accessed July 30, 2024
- ↑ Idaho State Legislature, "Idaho Statutes 34-1001," accessed July 30, 2024
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Ada County Elections, "Absentee Voting," accessed July 30, 2024 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "ada" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Idaho State Legislature, "Idaho Statutes 34-1005," accessed July 30, 2024
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Receipt and Postmark Deadlines for Absentee/Mail Ballots," accessed July 30, 2024
- ↑ LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO, Sixty-seventh Legislature, Second Regular Session - 2024, "HOUSE BILL NO. 599," accessed July 1, 2024
- ↑ Idaho State Legislature, "Idaho Statutes 34-1009," accessed April 12, 2023
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Idaho Secretary of State's Office - Vote Idaho, "Guide to Voting in Person," accessed July 30, 2024
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Provisional Ballots," November 4, 2022
- ↑ Idaho Secretary of State's Office, "Primary Elections in Idaho," accessed July 30, 2024
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed July 30, 2024
- ↑ ACLUE Idaho, "2024 Your Rights as an Idaho Voter," accessed July 30, 2024
- ↑ NOLO, "Taking Time Off to Vote," accessed July 22, 2024
- ↑ Idaho Legislature, "Idaho Statutes Section 18-310," accessed July 30, 2024
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Felon Voting Rights," April 6, 2023
- ↑ As of May 2024, the Justice Department notes, "Six States (Idaho, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming) are exempt from the NVRA because, on and after August 1, 1994, they either had no voter-registration requirements or had election-day voter registration at polling places with respect to elections for federal office."
- ↑ The United States Department of Justice, "The National Voter Registration Act of 1993," accessed May 29, 2024
- ↑ Idaho Legislature, "Idaho Statutes § 34-433," accessed July 30, 2024
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Idaho Legislature, "Idaho Statutes § 34-435," accessed July 30, 2024
- ↑ ERIC, "FAQ," accessed May 29, 2024
- ↑ ERIC, "Who We Are," accessed May 29, 2024
- ↑ Idaho Legislature, "Idaho Statutes § 34-1203A," accessed July 30, 2024
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Post-Election Audits," accessed July 30, 2024
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Post-Election Audits," accessed July 23, 2024
- ↑ Election Assistance Commission, "Election Audits Across the United States," accessed August 22, 2024
- ↑ Ballotpedia research conducted in October 2024, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Post-Election Audits," accessed October 4, 2024
- ↑ All About Redistricting, "Why does it matter?" accessed April 8, 2015
- ↑ Indy Week, "Cracked, stacked and packed: Initial redistricting maps met with skepticism and dismay," June 29, 2011
- ↑ The Atlantic, "How the Voting Rights Act Hurts Democrats and Minorities," June 17, 2013
- ↑ Redrawing the Lines, "The Role of Section 2 - Majority Minority Districts," accessed April 6, 2015
- ↑ All About Redistricting, "Who draws the lines?" accessed March 25, 2015
- ↑ 38.0 38.1 38.2 All About Redistricting, "Idaho," accessed April 20, 2015
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