By Ruth Brown, Idaho Reports
The House of Representatives killed a bill that would have prohibited no-excuse absentee ballot requests in Idaho.
Rep. Joe Alfieri, R-Coeur d’Alene, sponsored the bill, HB 205, which died in a 30-40 vote.
Under the bill, only those in the military, disabled, hospitalized or infirmed, on a religious mission, attending university, or living in another state temporarily would be allowed to request an absentee ballot.
Unexpected illness or vacation would not qualify as a reason for requesting an absentee ballot.
Alfieri said the bill was about election integrity and avoiding fraud.
“We’re trying to tighten up those parameters so that we don’t have those problems in the future that we’re seeing in other states,” Alfieri said.
Rep. Britt Raybould, R-Rexburg, argued that Idaho is not seeing the same types of election issues as other states.
“I am inclined to focus on the things that have happened in this state and what has happened are secure elections,” Raybould said.
Other legislators focused on the fact that “illness” isn’t clearly defined in the bill and questioned if it would become a county clerk’s responsibility to verify the illness.
Rep. Lance Clow, R-Twin Falls, argued that sometimes people just don’t know if they’ll be able to make it to the polls before they close at 8 p.m. He used the Legislature as an example, saying sometimes lawmakers work late unexpectedly.
Rep. Lauren Necochea, D-Boise, argued the exemptions in the bill for who can get a ballot were arbitrary.
She pointed out that ballots could be granted to people on a religious mission, but not a humanitarian mission, or students at a university, but not at a community college.
Rep. Kenny Wroten, R-Nampa, criticized the bill, noting that some of the polls in his area have long lines that can be tedious for even healthy people to wait in.
“This seems to be an answer to a problem that doesn’t exist for us,” Wroten said.
Ruth Brown | Producer
Ruth Brown grew up in South Dakota and her first job out of college was covering the South Dakota Legislature. She’s since moved on to Idaho lawmakers. Brown spent 10 years working in print journalism, including newspapers such as the Idaho Statesman and Idaho Press, where she’s covered everything from the correctional system to health care issues. She joined Idaho Reports in 2021 and looks forward to telling stories about how state policy can impact the lives of regular Idahoans.
