Idaho lawmaker wants to remove option for registered voters. Critic calls it suppression
Idaho voters could soon have one fewer voting option at the polls.
Sen. Brian Lenney, R-Nampa, introduced Senate Bill 1049 to repeal an Idaho law that allows registered voters to sign sworn affidavits in lieu of photo ID to cast their ballots.
To register, Idaho voters must present photo identification and proof of residence in the state. But a law that dates from 2010 allows voters who are already registered but do not have an ID with them at the polls to instead sign a statement affirming their identity. Doing so fraudulently is a felony.
There are no known instances of voters misrepresenting themselves on an affidavit, a spokesperson for Secretary of State Phil McGrane told the Idaho Statesman in an emailed statement. The Republican opposes the law’s repeal.
Lenney told a Senate committee on Monday that he voted via affidavit last year on purpose to “test the system,” and found it wanting.
“It’s a loophole that’s ripe for fraud,” Lenney said, adding that voters cannot buy alcohol or guns without a photo ID.
In the November election, about 1,200 people — or 0.2% of voters statewide — used an affidavit to vote, according to Chelsea Carattini, McGrane’s spokesperson. She added that the data covers the “vast majority” of Idaho’s counties, but not all.
In the statement, Carattini said there are ways to “strengthen the security measures of the personal ID affidavit while keeping it in place as a resource for voters who may need it.
“During the recent Presidential Elections 99.8% of voters at the polls showed photo identification, which shows use of the affidavits is rare. We support enhancing the current process, but do not think it should be eliminated,” Carattini said. McGrane, the former Ada County Clerk, is not aware of any instances where a voter has misidentified themselves on an affidavit, she said.
Ada County has never had an affidavit challenged or overturned, according to clerk’s office spokesperson Nicole Camarda. There were 426 used in the state’s most populous county in November, she said.
Other states, like Delaware and Michigan, also allow voting by affidavit, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Some states, like Mississippi, allow voters to cast a provisional ballot while they’re at the polls, which will only be counted if they return to the local clerk’s office within a few days with their photo identification.
Babe Vote, a progressive voter drive group in Idaho, called Lenny’s bill an attempt at voter suppression.
“A registered voter’s right to sign a personal affidavit under penalty of law is the only backstop a citizen has if they do not have their ID with them at the polls,” Sam Sandmire, the group’s spokesperson, said by text. “This right is even more important now that Idaho’s legislature has narrowed the list of acceptable IDs to register and vote.”
Two laws from 2023 removed student IDs from use to register or vote, and disallowed residents from using the last four digits of their Social Security number. Babe Vote argued the laws violated the Idaho Constitution and sued the state over them, but lost.
“This law is an unnecessary and blatant attempt to suppress voters,” Sandmire added about the proposal. It advanced Monday for a future public hearing.
This story was originally published February 4, 2025 at 4:00 AM.
