by Logan Finney, Idaho Reports
The Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee introduced a bill Monday to strengthen and clarify an Idaho law that bans electioneering at the polls. The bill would amend the state’s ban on electioneering from 100 feet to 250 feet from polling places, as well as increase the associated penalties.
Electioneering includes campaign activities such as circulating hand cards, soliciting signatures, and interfering with or disrupting voters. The legislation would add advocating for or against any candidate or measure, soliciting votes, and offering money or gifts to that list.
“It’s making our polling places free from interference and intimidation,” Sen. Linda Wright Hartgen, R-Twin Falls, said as she presented the legislation on Monday afternoon.
Existing state law only prohibits electioneering within 100 feet of a polling place or its building. The bill would specify that electioneering is prohibited “within two hundred fifty (250) feet of the primary entrance and exit used by voters,” which is more precisely worded than the current statute.
“I, for one, appreciate some of the clarity that you’re bringing here,” said committee chairman Sen. Todd Lakey, R-Nampa. “There was always a little bit of ambiguity as to where you measure that 100 feet from – the property line, the corner of the building, or the entrance?”
Hartgen also referenced a car collision incident this fall during early voting in Kootenai County. According to the county clerk, KXLY reports, one of the drivers was attempting to take a parking spot that was just over 100 feet from the polling place for electioneering purposes when they collided with the other car.
“It’s happening more and more, that handing out information. I guess people think that we really haven’t read about the candidates,” Hartgen said.
The penalty for electioneering at the polls under the current law is a fine between $25 and $1,000.
The first two violations under the bill would be an infraction with a $300 fine, and subsequent violations would carry a misdemeanor.
“I can’t imagine anybody could get caught once and you’d come back multiple times, but this bill protects the freedoms that we have,” Hartgen said.
The bill must come back before committee for a full public hearing to move forward.
Logan Finney | Associate Producer
Logan Finney is a North Idaho native with a passion for media production and boring government meetings. He grew up skiing, hunting and hiking in the mountains of Bonner County and has maintained a lifelong interest in the state’s geography, history and politics. Logan joined the Idaho Reports team in 2020 as a legislative session intern and stayed to cover the COVID-19 pandemic. He was hired as an associate producer in 2021 and they haven’t been able to get rid of him since.