BOISE — Two bills proposing sweeping changes to Idaho’s voting laws were killed in a Senate committee on Friday, amid an outcry from county clerks, voting rights advocates, a victim of domestic violence and others. With numerous similar bills pending, lawmakers are now discussing a possible interim study of Idaho’s election laws.
Sen. Mary Souza, R-Coeur d’Alene, sponsor of both bills and a candidate for Idaho Secretary of State, said her bills would “make sure we don’t have the problems that we see across the country.” She was particularly critical of absentee voting, saying it’s an avenue for fraud.
Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder, R-Boise, asked her how much illegal voting actually occurred in Idaho in the last election.
“I don’t mean to be glib, but if we don’t look, we don’t find any problems,” Souza responded. “Idaho is one of the very few states in the country that has no schedule or procedure laid out for regular audits after elections.”
However, both houses this year passed legislation requiring and funding post-election audits, which was proposed by Gov. Brad Little in his State of the State message to lawmakers; the widely supported legislation is awaiting the governor’s signature. And following claims of fraud from political activist Mike Lindell, also known as the “My Pillow” guy, the Idaho Secretary of State’s office in October audited results from the 2020 election in two counties and found no irregularities.
Souza said she’s not saying there’s fraud in Idaho elections, but compared it to closing an open garage door to make sure nothing gets stolen and no “wild turkeys” get in.
“This is not punitive when it comes to the forms of ID that you can use,” she said. “It puts a level of security on it.”
Her first bill, SB 1375, sought to ban ballot drop boxes; alter Idaho’s voter identification rules in numerous ways, including prohibiting the use of student or military IDs and ending the use of affidavits for voters who don’t bring their ID, which she termed “not a safe system;” require proof of identity, residence and citizenship both to register to vote and at the polls; require a new application for an absentee ballot for each election with proof of identity, residence and citizenship; and require anyone registering to vote electronically or by mail to first vote in person before they’re allowed to vote by absentee ballot.
In the case of a homebound person, SB 1375 would require the local county clerk or their designee to visit the voter’s home to check their ID.
Idaho County Clerk Kathy Ackerman called that “a ridiculous burden on county election staff,” and said, “The message here seems to be we don’t trust Idaho voters, and we don’t trust them so much that we’re going to send someone to their house. I’m not sure that plays well with Idahoans.”
She ran down a long list of technical issues with how the bill would work, and said, “To require registered voters who’ve been voting for decades to suddenly provide a birth certificate ... I cannot imagine any of my poll workers signing up for that abuse.”
Josi Christensen, a third-generation poll worker, said, “I’ve worked election desk, and I can’t imagine explaining to an Idahoan that they don’t have the right papers to vote.”
Jennifer Beazer, a victim of domestic violence, told the senators, “Without absentee ballots and drop boxes I could not have voted. I didn’t go anywhere but school and work without my children for five years.”
Hollie Conde of Conservation Voters of Idaho said, “Voting absentee, it goes beyond just convenience. … This is an absolute essential for many, many people.”
Blake Youde, lobbyist for the Idaho Association of County Recorders and Clerks, said, “There’s 64 election bills pending right now before the Legislature in some way, shape or form.”
He said that’s creating lots of confusion, with many amending the same sections of state law and having different effective dates.
“If we really need to examine Idaho’s election laws in their totality,” he said, lawmakers should convene an interim committee and work with county clerks and other stakeholders.
Senate Majority Leader Kelly Anthon, R-Burley, moved to send the bill to the Senate’s amending order for changes, and Sen. Lee Heider, R-Twin Falls, seconded the motion, but it failed on a 4-5 vote, so the bill died.
Sen. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, said, “I’m not interested in suppressing anyone’s vote, and that’s what this legislation is going to do.”
Souza’s second bill, SB 1376, was an anti-“ballot harvesting” bill that would make it a crime for anyone other than the voter’s caregiver, family member or household member to deliver their ballot, and for anyone to deliver more than six ballots including their own. It also would add new requirements for an affidavit on the envelope from the person delivering the ballot and require that person to show a photo ID if they’re delivering the ballot in person.
Kendal Shaber of the League of Women Voters of Idaho said the group has found that in some Idaho communities, it’s considered the “neighborly thing to do” to drop off a neighbor’s ballot.
“Does it make any sense to criminalize being neighborly?” she asked.
“I understand the intent of this legislation, but ballot harvesting is not a problem in Idaho,” she said. “We have not had any cases of it.”
Ackerman again pointed to a series of technical issues with the bill and said the Idaho Association of County Recorders and Clerks opposes it.
That bill was held in committee on a voice vote, with just Winder and Anthon opposing the motion.
Winder said, “I heard the clerks volunteer to get more involved. I think that’s a necessity if we’re going to deal with some of these issues. And I will pledge to talk about a working group which would include clerks and interested parties, to see if we can’t get to some agreement on these issues. I’ll also talk to the speaker and to House leadership about a possible interim committee that would bring clerks and interested stakeholders to the table, because I think it is important.”