President Trump won in 2024. How has the result affected Idaho's election integrity movement?
About two dozen election bills have been introduced in Idaho this legislative session, a total that signals fewer questions around voting across the state compared to past years.
Since the 2020 election, far more election bills have typically been introduced, according to Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane and legislative archives. Right out of the gate in 2023, House Bill 1 revised laws around auditing elections. Now, some of the desire for election integrity has fallen off because of outreach and because President Donald Trump won, McGrane, a Republican, told the Idaho Statesman.
'The November election, a combination of the results but also how we ran it, answered a lot of people's questions,' he said by phone. 'For a healthy number of Idahoans, they seem to have moved on … elections just isn't at the top.'
Idaho's elections are safe, McGrane said.
This session's election-related bills range from giving the attorney general the ability to investigate and prosecute election crimes to requiring a unique identifier on each ballot. Another would require anti-fraud measures like a hologram design on ballots. Other bills focus on checking voter rolls or underscoring that only citizens can vote (which already is the law).
So far, House Bill 310, which also requires certain anti-fraud measures, is one of the closest to becoming law. The bill passed the House, advanced out of the Senate State Affairs Committee and awaits a full vote on the Senate floor.
Rep. Joe Alfieri, R-Coeur d'Alene, sponsored at least three of the election security bills, including the proposed law to grant the attorney general power to investigate election crimes. The Attorney General's Office declined to comment, citing pending legislation.
Alfieri still had some questions, but said he's 'confident in what we're doing' and he doesn't see cause for concern in Idaho elections
'When you move into a neighborhood, if it's a low crime neighborhood, that doesn't mean you don't put locks on the doors,' Alfieri told the Statesman.
Idaho is ranked 28th in conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation's election integrity scorecard, Alfieri said. Alfieri's goal is to improve the Gem State's position, he said. (McGrane said he agreed with the goal.)
Rep. Steve Tanner, R-Nampa, who sponsored at least two of the other election bills this session, didn't return a request for comment.
In a House committee hearing this week, Rep. Jaron Crane, R-Nampa, said that House Bill 339, which aims to check voter registrations, 'codifies' the process that the secretary of state already follows.
The bill advanced to the House floor with a committee recommendation to pass it.
There is no evidence of widespread fraud in recent elections, according to The Atlantic, but many officials like Trump have falsely claimed and without evidence that the 2020 election was stolen. Some of those lies have been costly: In 2023, Fox News settled with Dominion Voting Systems in a defamation lawsuit, paying almost $800 million to avoid trial, according to The Associated Press.
Idaho officials have expressed confidence in state elections before, the Statesman previously reported. For example, outspoken 2020 election denier Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow, in 2021 claimed that results in the state were manipulated to help former Democratic President Joe Biden.
That election, Trump won almost 64% of the vote in Idaho.
Idaho investigated and determined the claims were untrue. The state later billed Lindell for the cost of disproving him, along with sending a cease and desist letter, according to previous Statesman reporting.
'Do we believe there's integrity in Idaho's elections? Absolutely,' Chad Houck, former chief deputy secretary of state, said at the time.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Michael Goodwin: Democrats with Trump Derangement Syndrome are undercutting Israel
One way to look at the first six months of Donald Trump's second term is that the wily president has managed to trick Democrats into fighting common sense and adopting bizarre and unpopular positions. Consider how he lured them into wildly protecting waste, fraud and abuse in the budget simply by having a plan to cut it. Then the president, by keeping a campaign promise, fooled his opponents into engaging in violent riots and trying to block his deportations of illegal immigrants, including those who had committed serious crimes here. And now comes Trump trick No. 3, which is unfolding before our eyes. Because the president's support for Israel is ironclad in its war with Iran, those infected by Trump Derangement Syndrome are reflexively pulling away from the Jewish nation. Already there are signs that Dems and their media handmaidens are moving toward condemning Israel for daring to protect itself from Iranian aggression. The left's budding resistance is camouflaged in squishy, both-sidesism mush. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries began by saying that 'Iran should never be allowed to become nuclear capable,' but quickly called for 'a reduction in hostilities.' 'I'm hopeful that cooler heads will prevail in the Middle East and the situation is de-escalated,' Jeffries told MSNBC. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the doofus Dems thought was veep-ready, addressed the initial Israeli strike by bemoaning that America is no longer a 'neutral arbitrator' and added: 'Who is the voice in the world that can negotiate some type of agreement and hold the moral authority? It might be the Chinese.' His fellow Minnesotan, Rep. Ilhan Omar, chimed in with her usual antisemitic dog-whistles. 'Israel knows America will do whatever they want and feels confident about their ability to get into war and have the American government back them up,' she posted. She also insisted Americans should be ready to 'either see their tax dollars being spent on weapons supplies to Israel or be dragged into war with Iran.' Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy plowed similar ground when he bizarrely insisted Israel's attack 'was clearly intended to scuttle the Trump Administration's negotiations with Iran, and risks a regional war that will likely be catastrophic for America.' Amid all the crazy talk on the left, there are a few voices of sanity. One is Sen. John Fetterman, with the Pennsylvania Dem telling Jewish Insider he was shocked by his party pals' views. 'It was just astonishing to see colleagues criticizing these things. It's like, do you think you can negotiate with that regime? Do you think you want to run that scenario and allow them to acquire 1,000 pounds of weapons-grade uranium?' 'I can't understand, I can't even begin to understand that,' Fetterman said. Exceptions to the rule In the same vein, Bronx Congressman Ritchie Torres scoffed at an article in The Economist that doubts Iran was actually racing toward a nuke. Noting that the mullahs expanded their stockpile of 60% enriched uranium by 50% — a level far beyond any plausible civilian use, Torres writes on X that 'To cast doubt on Iran's nuclear ambitions at this point requires not just skepticism, but a willful suspension of one's functioning cerebral cortex.' Unfortunately, Fetterman and Torres are exceptions. For the vast majority of Dems, including those with press passes, the rule that Trump must be relentlessly resisted is forcing them into a corner that looks and sounds like a political loony bin. It's not a new phenomenon, but the shocking thing is that neither his second election nor the seriousness of America's problems at home and abroad have cured their derangement. Instead of being selective in their opposition to Trump, they are embracing their madness across the board with increasing intensity. Whatever he's for, they instantly and mindlessly are against. The Iran nuke issue is an especially strange example. As Fetterman and Torres note, the criticism of Israel ignores the crucial point: Iran is seeking a nuclear weapon, has hidden its enrichment facilities for years and lied to UN inspectors. On its face, that would be troubling enough. But the most egregious element is that Iran has pledged not only to develop a nuke — but to use it on Israel. Keep up with today's most important news Stay up on the very latest with Evening Update. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters An enemy of the US The quivering Dems presumably are saving their full support of Israel for the day after it gets nuked. Then they'll wail and somehow blame Trump. Fortunately, the Jewish state is not in the mood for suicide and so it struck first, hitting enrichment facilities, degrading weapons systems and taking out the military leadership along with top scientists. The refusal of so many on the left to join Trump and back Israel wholeheartedly is all the more absurd when you remember that Iran pledges that after it destroys Israel, which it calls 'the little satan,' it will go after the US, the 'great satan.' That means Israel is attacking a sworn enemy of America, and displaying why it is one of our best and most important allies. Yet still most Dems can't see the moral imperative and national interest in Israel's action. Nor do they understand how the horrible events of Oct. 7 affect Israeli decisionmakers. That was the deadliest day for Jews since the end of the Holocaust, and it would be unforgivable if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others did nothing to stop Iran's race for nukes. Imagine if one of the ballistic missiles that hit Tel Aviv Saturday was carrying a nuclear warhead. That's the nightmare scenario, and it is reason enough to justify the Israeli strikes. Trump gets that, which is why he and Netanyahu adopted a good cop, bad cop routine. The president sincerely wanted Iran to voluntarily give up its nuclear ambitions and tried to make it happen through two months of direct negotiations. At the same time, he warned repeatedly there would be hell to pay if the Ayatollah said no. How much hell now depends on whether the Supreme Leader faces reality and tries to save himself and his regime by making a deal. If he doesn't, it's entirely possible the US, with its unique 30,000-pound buster bombs, will join Israel in obliterating the nuclear sites. Trump's calibrated, forceful stance is a welcome break with Joe Biden's many missteps after the Hamas attack in 2023. Initially, he was completely in Israel's corner, but, faced with criticism from within his party in an election year, Biden began threatening to withhold munitions unless Israel agreed to limit its responses. He even had Secretary of State Antony Blinken attend Israel's military cabinet meetings to decide which Gaza targets Israel could hit. All the while, Biden, who had lifted some of Trump's oil and banking sanctions on Iran, tried to sweet-talk the regime into another weak nuclear pact. Instead, Iran shifted much of the money to Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis and kept working on developing the bomb. Thankfully, for both Israel and America, those days of Oval Office weakness are over.
Axios
2 hours ago
- Axios
Police make arrest after Texas capitol evacuated over threat to lawmakers
The Texas Department of Public Safety arrested a person in connection with threats against state lawmakers that saw the state capitol briefly evacuated on Saturday, the DPS said. The big picture: The threats against the lawmakers whom officials said planned to attend Austin's anti-Trump " No Kings" protest came hours after after two Democratic Minnesota legislators and their spouses were shot in what police described as "targeted attacks." Minnesota state House Democratic Leader Melissa Hortman and her husband fatally shot during the attack at their Twin Cities home. Details: The state capitol was evacuated due to a "credible threat" against the lawmakers, the DPS said just after 1pm local time. A DPS trooper later took one person into custody in connection with the threats, per a later DPS post. Texas Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick wrote spoke out against threats to lawmakers on X as he confirmed the "credible threat" that was made "to possibly kill members of the Texas legislature at the capitol":
Hamilton Spectator
3 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Military parade barrels through DC as ‘No Kings' protesters across US decry Trump
WASHINGTON (AP) — The grand military parade that President Donald Trump had been wanting for years barreled down Constitution Avenue on Saturday with tanks, troops and a 21-gun salute, playing out against a counterpoint of protests around the country by those who decried the U.S. leader as a dictator and would-be king. The Republican president, on his 79th birthday, sat on a special viewing stand south of the White House to watch the display of American military might, which began early and moved swiftly as light rain fell and clouds shrouded the Washington Monument. The procession, with more than 6,000 soldiers and 128 Army tanks, was one Trump tried to make happen in his first term after seeing such an event in Paris in 2017, but the plans never came together until the parade was added to an event recognizing the Army's 250th anniversary. Up above, the Army's Golden Knights parachute team descended from overcast skies toward the reviewing stand. The team had been scheduled to jump at the end of the parade, but appeared in the drizzly skies above the National Mall far earlier than planned. At times, Trump stood and saluted as troops marched past the reviewing stand. But attendance appeared to fall far short of early predictions that as many as 200,000 people would attend the festival and parade. There were large gaps between viewers near the Washington Monument on a day when steamy weather and the threat of thunderstorms could have dampened turnout. Hours before the parade started, demonstrators turned out in streets and parks around the nation to sound off against the Republican president. They criticized Trump for using the military to respond to people protesting his deportation efforts and for the muscular military show in the U.S. capital. Trump had brushed off the possibility of weather or protest disruptions. In a social media post Saturday morning, he said the 'great military parade' would be on 'rain or shine.' The protests, he said earlier, 'will be met with very big force.' The daylong display of America's Army came as Trump has shown his willingness to use the nation's military might in ways other U.S. presidents have typically avoided. In the last week, he has activated the California National Guard without the governor's permission and dispatched the U.S. Marines to provide security during Los Angeles protests related to immigration raids, prompting a state lawsuit to stop the deployments. As armored vehicles rolled down the street in front of the president, on the other side of the country, the Marines who Trump deployed to Los Angeles appeared at a demonstration for the first time, standing guard outside a federal building. Dozens of Marines stood shoulder to shoulder in full combat gear beside the National Guard, Homeland Security officers and other law enforcement. Hundreds of protesters facing them jeered in English and Spanish, telling the troops to go home. A previously calm demonstration in downtown Los Angeles turned chaotic when police on horseback charged at the crowd, striking some with rods and batons as they cleared the street in front of the federal building and fired tear gas and crowd control projectiles. In Washington, hundreds protesting Trump carried signs that included 'Where's the due process?' and 'No to Trump's fascist military parade' as they marched toward the White House. A larger-than-life puppet of Trump was wheeled through the crowd, a caricature of the president wearing a crown and sitting on a golden toilet. Other protesters waved pride flags and hoisted signs, some with pointed messages such as 'I prefer crushed ICE,' referring to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Other messages included 'The invasion was HERE Jan. 6th, NOT in L.A.' and 'Flip me off if you're a FASCIST.' 'No Kings' rallies unfolded in hundreds of cities , designed to counter what organizers said were Trump's plans to feed his ego on his 79th birthday and Flag Day. Organizers said they picked the name to support democracy and speak out against what they call the authoritarian actions of the Trump administration. Meanwhile, on the National Mall, a display of armored vehicles, helicopters and military-grade equipment was set up to commemorate the Army's birthday. Vendors outside the Army festival sold gear marking the military milestone. Others hawked Trump-themed merchandise. Larry Stallard, a retired American Airlines pilot, said he traveled to Washington from Kansas City for the weekend 'to see the military and see Trump.' Stallard, who voted for Trump, said it was 'hard to believe' people were upset about the cost of the event when 'they blow that in 10 seconds on things that we don't even need.' Doug Haynes, a Navy veteran who voted for Trump, attended the daylong festival to celebrate the Army's 250th birthday, but said the parade 'was a little over the top.' Pointing at a nearby tank, Haynes said that having them roll down the street is a 'very bold statement to the world, perhaps.' The parade was added just two months ago to the long-planned celebration of the Army's birthday and has drawn criticism for its price tag of up to $45 million and the possibility that the lumbering tanks could tear up city streets. The Army has taken a variety of steps to protect the streets, including laying metal plates along the route. About 6 in 10 Americans said Saturday's parade was 'not a good use' of government money. The vast majority of people, 78%, said they neither approve nor disapprove of the parade overall, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research . Kathy Straus traveled from Richmond, Virginia, to attend the parade, carrying a sign criticizing its cost and arguing the money could have been used to feed veterans. 'I thought that it would be more effective to come here than go to a protest with people that think similar to me,' said Straus. The parade wound down Constitution Avenue, lined with security fencing and barriers. A flyover of military aircraft included World War II-era planes, including a B-25 Mitchell bomber, and Army helicopters flew low over the crowd, below the top of the Washington Monument. Mounted soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division made an appearance — horses once played a crucial role in warfare, but today they're mostly used in ceremonial events like today's parade. Trump swore in 250 new recruits and returning soldiers into service, with soldiers repeating an oath after him. 'Welcome to the United States Army! And have a great life,' Trump said to them afterward. The night also was to include a concert featuring 'God Bless the U.S.A.' singer Lee Greenwood and fireworks. ____ Associated Press writers Eric Tucker, Michelle L. Price, Nathan Ellgren, Lea Skene, Olivia Diaz, Joey Cappelletti, Ashraf Khalil and Tara Copp contributed to this report. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
