Latest news with #VoteIdaho.gov
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Early voting in Idaho's May 20 election begins today
Bonneville County residents fill out their ballots during the May 21, 2024, primary election at The Waterfront Event Center in Idaho Falls. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) Monday, May 5 is the day that early voting begins for Idaho's May 20 election in the counties that conduct early voting. Early voting ends on Friday, May 16. For instance, voters in Ada County can take advantage of early voting on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. starting today through May 16 at the following sites: Ada County Elections (Mobile Voting Unit) Boise City Hall Eagle Public Library Garden City City Hall Library! At Bown Crossing Meridian City Hall Star City Hall Voters in other Idaho counties can log on to their county's elections website or call the elections office to see if early voting is offered in their area. For example, early voting is available in Bannock, Bonneville, Canyon, Gem, Nez Perce and Twin Falls counties, among others. Eligible voters may vote at any of the early voting locations. Anyone who is not registered to vote may register and vote at any of the locations by bringing a photo ID and proof of residence. Ada County Elections will also utilize its Mobile Voting Unit during early voting at the Ada County Election Headquarters only, according to an Ada County Elections Office press release. If you are voting via absentee ballot in Ada County, you can drop off your completed ballot in one of the open absentee drop-off boxes. You can find drop boxes at Ada County Elections, Meridian City Hall, Boise City Hall, Kuna City Hall, Star City Hall and Eagle City Hall, according to the press release. Ballots across Idaho will vary for this election, depending on your address and taxing districts. Voters may see candidates for water, sewer, auditorium and highway districts, as well ballot measures such as supplemental levies for school districts on their May 20 ballot. To learn more about the May 20 election and to preview your ballot in Ada County, visit All Idaho voters can also go to the Secretary of State's website and enter their home address to view their sample ballot or find their polling location. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
League of Women Voters of Idaho to host forums for Treasure Valley library board candidates
The League of Women Voters of Idaho will host two public forums to enable voters to hear from candidates running for Ada County Free Library District and Meridian Library District board of trustees seats in the May 20 election. () The League of Women Voters of Idaho will host two public forums to enable voters to hear from candidates running for Ada County Free Library District and Meridian Library District board of trustees seats in the May 20 election. Online voter registration deadline for May 20 election is Friday in Idaho The Ada County Free Library District forum will be held from 6-8 p.m. April 30 at the Star River House, 960 S. Main St. in Star. The Meridian Library District forum will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. May 7 at the Meridian Library, 1326 W. Cherry Lane. The Meridian Women in Action organization will join the League in sponsoring that event. Every candidate running for a board seat in the two districts has been invited to the events, according to a Leauge of Women Voters' of Idaho press release. Campaign materials and information about voting in Idaho will also be available at the events. 'As a non-partisan organization, the League has a long history of hosting respectful, informative candidate forums,' said Jean Henscheid, co-president of the Idaho League, in the press release. 'We are pleased to offer the public these opportunities to interact with the people who seek to oversee nine of the Treasure Valley's libraries.' To view candidate profiles, go to and enter your home address to access the Leauge of Women Voters of Idaho's voter guide. The deadline to preregister to vote for the May 20 election is Friday. Mailed paper preregistrations must be postmarked by Friday or by midnight on Friday for online applications. Residents may also preregister at their local county election's office by 5 p.m. Friday. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for the May 20 election, and residents can also register to vote the day of the election with a valid form of ID and a proof of residency. To get more information on what qualifies for those requirements, go to the Secretary of State's Office's website at To check your registration status, click here. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Online voter registration deadline for May 20 election is Friday in Idaho
A "Vote Here" sign is on display during the general election on Nov. 5, 2024, at Lowell Elementary School in Boise. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) Friday, April 25 is the deadline to register to vote online in advance of the upcoming May 20 local election. Idahoans can register to vote – or update their voter registration details – online at the website run by the Idaho Secretary of State's Office. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX This week's online voter registration deadline is important for voters who plan to vote by absentee ballot, officials with the Ada County Clerk's Office said in a press release issued Wednesday. Idahoans have until May 9 to request an absentee ballot for the upcoming May 20 election. But voters can only request an absentee ballot if they have first registered to vote or updated their voter registration information by the April 25 deadline, Ada County elections officials said. If Idahoans plan to vote in-person on Election Day they can still register to vote when they show up at their polling place with a valid ID and proof of residency. CONTACT US Regardless of how Idahoans plan to vote, they can visit to register to vote, update their registration details, request an absentee ballot, review their sample ballot or find the location of their polling place. 'Registering online to vote at is easy and can help streamline your voting experience on Election Day,' Ada County Clerk Trent Tripple said in a written statement. 'If you are already registered, I encourage you to double-check and update your information if necessary to ensure a smooth voting process when you show up to the polls.' Depending on where Idahoans live, they may have school bond issues or levies, auditorium district, highway district, hospital district, water district, library district or sewer district elections to vote on. In Boise, voters will vote on two, six-year positions for the Greater Boise Auditorium District during the upcoming May 20 election. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Idaho legislators address ‘monetization of politics' in new campaign finance bills
Idaho House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, answers a reporter's question during a press conference on Jan. 6, 2025, at the Statehouse in Boise. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) Republican House leadership introduced four bills on Friday to address the influx of out-of-state spending involved in Idaho elections. A total of $17 million was spent on campaign and independent expenditures on 2024 legislative races. More than $9.3 million of that money was spent on materials to oppose or support candidates, according to an official website managed by the Idaho Secretary of State. 'We've never seen that before, so it's our intention to do a little bit better job of identifying who's sending that money in here, where that money's coming from and what it's getting spent on,' House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, said about the legislation. 'The voters deserve to know that.' Moyle, alongside House State Affairs Committee Chairman Brent Crane, R-Nampa, introduced four bills to the committee, including: House Bill 306, which would establish 'criminal libel,' is a bill to make it a felony for someone to publish false statements about another person, establishing a maximum $100,000 fine, imprisonment for at most five years, or both. House Bill 307 is a bill to allow the Idaho Secretary of State Office to investigate false claims against a candidate and publish its findings on its website. House Bill 308 is a bill to require electioneering communications costing more than $1,000 to be reported within 24 hours closer to primary and general elections, and require political committees to upload materials they make about a candidate or campaign to the Idaho Secretary of website. House Bill 309 is a bill which would require lobbyists to disclose expenses on a weekly basis during the legislative session and a monthly basis outside of session. The legislation has support from Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane, who said in a press conference before the committee meeting began that Idahoans have a right to know who is trying to influence their opinions during elections and who is trying to influence lawmakers. 'You can see it playing out in this session where there's a lot of pressure,' McGrane said. 'If you go to the speaker of the pro tem's office, they've got stacks of postcards from some of these organizations putting pressure on the process, and so adding transparency and disclosure is a key part of this effort.' Crane said the legislation addresses what he considers 'monetization of politics,' or wealthy groups outside of Idaho getting involved in the state's politics. Out-of-state campaign spending responsible for many of Idaho's negative campaign ads 'I'm extremely concerned,' Crane told the committee. 'In fact, I'm angry about the out-of-state money that is being spent to influence the outcome of elections in Idaho. If I had a magic wand and I could do what I wanted to do, it would be only Idaho dollars spent on Idaho elections.' In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruled campaign contributions are protected free speech, thus allowing corporations and unions to spend unlimited money on political campaigns. The legislation introduced on Friday is meant to enhance campaign finance transparency, Crane said. 'We just want to let you know that we take it seriously when out of state money is being spent, especially dark money out of state,' Crane said. During the 2024 primary election, the political committee that spent the most to oppose Idaho legislative candidates was the Make Liberty Win PAC, based in Virginia. The committee spent $716,000 to support and oppose Idaho candidates in 2024. Moyle was one of the candidates the PAC attacked the most, with $112,000 spent against him during the primary, IdahoEd News reported. The political committee sent mailers across his district falsely labeling him as 'anti-gun,' KTVB reported. The committee voted to advance the bills for a full hearing at a later date. Crane said he would give the legislation a few weeks to circulate among legislators until then. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Back again: Bill to limit absentee ballots introduced in Idaho House committee
Idaho state Reps. Clint Hostetler, R-Twin Falls, (left) talks with Joe Alfieri, R-Coeur d'Alene, (center) prior to the Jan. 7, 2025, meeting of the House State Affairs Committee. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) A North Idaho legislator on Tuesday introduced a bill intended to limit who can receive an absentee ballot. Rep. Joe Alfieri, R-Coeur d'Alene, told the Idaho House State Affairs Committee the bill's purpose is to prevent fraud. According to the bill's statement of purpose, the absentee ballot was 'never intended as a convenience,' and it was meant to provide access to voters with a physical infirmity, an illness and those with work restrictions. Currently, any registered voter in Idaho may request an absentee ballot to be mailed to their address. But the bill would change this policy, allowing only the following Idahoans to request an absentee ballot: Those on active military service Those experiencing an illness, disability or hospitalization Those working or attending university Those on a religious mission Those occupying a second home or residents outside of their home county on the day of the election Those 65 years old or older Those living in a mail ballot precinct Idaho legislators have introduced similar bills in the past, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported, but they did not make it past the early stages of the Idaho House side. According to an official website run by the Idaho Secretary of State, more than 173,300 individuals submitted an absentee ballot during the 2024 general election, 56% of whom were registered Republicans. Given the popularity of absentee voting in Idaho, Republicans and Democrats on the committee shared their concerns about the bill. Rep. Todd Achilles, D-Boise, said the bill favors older people, and he would like to see real examples of absentee ballots causing voter fraud. Additionally, he said Idahoans cannot predict if they'll fall sick on Election Day and need to request an absentee ballot. Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen, R-Idaho Falls, agreed that the bill favors older people, and pointed out that there is no exception for mothers, especially in rural areas, with multiple children. 'My daughter, I think she might have to go 20 miles (to vote), right?' Michelsen said. 'I don't see anything in here that addresses the needs of young families, young mothers… Are we trying to limit people's participation and their voice by running this?' The committee voted to advance Alfieri's bill, clearing the way for a full hearing in the coming days or weeks. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
