In Trump’s push to change state voting laws ahead of midterms, Idaho holds firm
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- Justice Department sent letters detailing federal law and offering enforcement assistance.
- Idaho Secretary of State McGrane said no voting changes are expected before the midterms.
- The DOJ sued McGrane in April and a federal judge in Idaho stayed the case in May.
President Donald Trump and his administration have continued to ramp up demands that states, including deep-red Idaho, alter their election laws to limit or eliminate mail-in voting and ensure that only eligible citizens cast ballots with threats of legal and financial penalties just months ahead of November’s general election.
The U.S. Department of Justice sent letters last week to the top election official in each state and Washington, D.C., detailing the applicable federal laws that must be followed to restrict noncitizens from voting. The July 7 letter from the DOJ’s civil rights division offered enforcement assistance to any state that requested it, and also cautioned any state that failed to comply.
“While federal law obviously makes it unlawful for noncitizens to vote in federal elections, … state election officers, including the chief election officer of the state, could be criminally prosecuted for aiding and abetting the violation,” read the letter to Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane, a copy of which was obtained and reviewed by the Idaho Statesman.
Recipients were asked to respond within five days with the steps they plan to take to make sure their state abides by all federal requirements in the upcoming election. McGrane, whose office is represented by the Idaho Attorney General’s Office, had yet to respond by Friday, a spokesperson for the secretary of state told the Statesman. But the office plans to do so early this week, he said.
McGrane, a Republican running for a second term this November, dismissed notions that his office doesn’t already oversee elections in Idaho that comply with all state and federal laws.
“I feel very confident in Idaho’s elections, we have great process and great people,” he said in a phone interview. “Any time I’ve interacted with the federal government, we’ve been able to affirm that Idaho has a good model for elections.”
The same DOJ division sued McGrane in April for refusing to provide full voter registration lists to the federal government. Idaho was among 30 states and Washington, D.C., to face such a lawsuit.
In May, U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill for the District of Idaho stayed the action while similar cases filed by the DOJ in Oregon and California are on appeal before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
“A stay is appropriate here. The Ninth Circuit’s ruling will almost certainly be dispositive,” Winmill wrote in his order. “Attempting to brief the present case without a determination by the Ninth Circuit is, frankly, a waste of everyone’s time.”
‘We have a great system’
McGrane, himself an attorney, declined to comment about the federal lawsuit against him as the state’s chief election official, citing active litigation, and the Attorney General’s Office did not respond to a request from the Statesman. McGrane reiterated his faith in Idaho’s existing election processes.
“We feel like we’re in a good place in terms of what we’re doing,” he said. No changes to Idaho’s voting rules are expected ahead of the November election, McGrane added.
The DOJ letters to states come on heels of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that states may accept mail-in ballots after Election Day, so long as they are postmarked by that day. In a narrow 5-4 decision, the right-leaning court denied a claim brought by the Republican National Committee to curtail the practice, backed by Trump’s Justice Department.
The same day, a U.S. District Court judge in Massachusetts ruled against an executive order issued by Trump in March that aimed to limit mail-in voting, writing that the president’s order was largely unconstitutional. The U.S. Constitution expressly grants the authority to establish election laws to each state.
“This ruling is a critical step in preserving free and fair elections,” the plaintiffs in the case said in a joint statement. “The court rightly recognized that the President and the executive branch lack both the legal authority and the capacity to compile a complete and accurate list of U.S. citizens or eligible voters in every state.”
Trump has otherwise railed against the practice of absentee ballots ahead of the midterms and pushed for states to move exclusively to paper ballots. This week, officials in his administration threatened to withhold a fifth of federal terrorism-prevention grants from states that do not comply with the Republican president’s demands to change their voting laws, The New York Times reported.
McGrane declined to comment, saying that he had no direct knowledge beyond media reports.
Trump has endorsed incumbent Gov. Brad Little and Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke in their reelection bids in Idaho. Both are also members of the Republican Party.
Little’s office did not respond to an inquiry from the Statesman. Bedke’s spokesperson said he was traveling out of the country and unavailable to comment.
Despite possible confusion created by the president and his administration ahead of the November election from their ongoing efforts to influence and change voting laws in some states, McGrane sought to assure residents that his office is once again prepared to make sure the midterms go smoothly.
“I think for Idahoans, we have a great system, and we’re making sure to answer questions for Idahoans before the November election,” he said. “Honestly, from our office’s perspective, Idahoans seem to feel good about how Idaho elections are going, so we don’t receive a lot of inquiries.”
