BOISE — After much deliberation about the safety concerns surrounding school polling locations, the House State Affairs Committee recently approved legislation to keep polling places in Idaho’s public schools.

The bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Randy Armstrong, R-Inkom, would ensure public schools are made available as polling locations on Election Day, as well as make certain that county commissioners, clerks and school districts work together to make that possible. It leaves the discretion to the local school districts to determine how to best accommodate voting, meaning they could choose to not hold class on Election Day, if they were required to use it as a polling place.

The legislation, whose other co-sponsor is Rep. Gayann DeMordaunt, R-Eagle, will now head to the House floor for a vote. Rep. John Gannon, D-Boise, voted against the bill, expressing concerns with child safety.

“I think it’s (school safety) got to be a priority,” Gannon said. “Boise police tell me that they get school threats on a very regular basis. ... With those kinds of things going on, I can’t help, we live in the 21st century and this never used to happen, but it’s happening and I think we need to take all the precautions we can.”

Out of the nearly 958 voting precincts across the state, more than 270 are found in public schools, making them one of the most common polling locations in the state, according to DeMordaunt.

Rep. Brooke Green, D-Boise, spoke in support of the bill, expressing that she has confidence in Idaho’s law enforcement and school districts to “do what is necessary to provide security and safety for the children,” as well as confident clerks will recognize schools that may not have the capacity to handle school polling.

The legislation is backed by several clerks from Canyon, Ada and Bannock counties, who spoke to the committee about the importance of keeping polling locations in public schools, as well as Chief Deputy Secretary of State Tim Hurst.

“We are all aware of safety concerns, and it’s high on our list,” said Canyon County Clerk Chris Yamamoto. “We have no intention as using this law as a hammer to force schools, we are looking for a ... lever that we can negotiate, compromise.”

Because schools are ADA accessible and meet the requirements necessary to be a polling location, DeMordaunt said it’s crucial they stay in schools to meet the state’s demand for places to cast a vote.

“In our most populous areas in the state it is becoming more and more difficult to find adequate places to vote,” Ada County Clerk Phil McGrane said. “The pressure is continuing to build and it’s because of the requirements for what we have for polling places.”