Don’t let Trump’s ‘big lie’ destroy Idaho’s successful same-day voter registration

Right off the bat, Idaho Rep. Dorothy Moon, R-Stanley, began her presentation of her so-called “Secure Election Act,” with a dubious assertion: “Election integrity is at the forefront of every American’s mind.”

Not really. It’s only on the forefront of the minds of Americans who still believe Donald Trump won the 2020 election and that the election was stolen from him by illegal voting.

More than 60 lawsuits were filed trying to peddle that false claim, and every single one of them was shot down. There has been no evidence that any of it happened. How are those Arizona election audits coming?

Even in Idaho, after the MyPillow guy alleged voter fraud, the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office audited the election results and found no evidence of fraud.

And yet, here we are, wasting time in the Idaho Legislature, discussing the possibility of upending and changing Idaho’s election laws in pursuit of something that even Moon herself conceded there has never been any evidence of in Idaho.

Moon’s bill would do several harmful things.

Moon, who is running for Idaho secretary of state, the office in charge of elections, wants to get rid of same-day voter registration, a feature of Idaho’s elections laws that is of great convenience and cherished by Idaho voters.

In her presentation to the House State Affairs Committee on Monday, Moon failed to mention getting rid of same-day voter registration.

Afterward, in a video release, she ridiculously claimed that same-day voter registration is “a policy crafted by liberal interest groups that has led to increased fraud and ballot manipulation.”

According to what? Aren’t legislators supposed to craft legislation based on facts, not speculation?

Idaho’s same-day voter registration was passed in 1994, when Idaho’s House and Senate were majority Republican.

As for benefiting liberals, 21,832 voters in Ada County, alone, registered on Election Day in 2020, likely sweeping Republican Ryan Davidson into office on the county commission over Democrat Diana Lachiondo. Nearly half, 46%, were Republican registrations, while only 12% were Democrats, according to the Ada County Elections Office.

Statewide, 87,330 voters registered on Election Day, or nearly 9% of all ballots cast. Same-day registration is clearly a popular feature among Idahoans.

Moon’s bill also would create a layer of bureaucracy for provisional ballots, for ballots cast by voters who show up at the polls without identification but sign an affidavit attesting to their identity.

Moon would require provisional ballots be kept in an envelope and counted only when a voter returns with ID within 10 days of the election, which likely would delay elections results.

Signing an affidavit for identification “opens up the potential of election integrity issues,” Moon said. Again, this legislation is based on speculation and fear, not factual evidence.

“What is the existing problem that we are trying to fix in Idaho or maybe another way to ask that is can you give us an example of something that happened in an Idaho election,” Rep. Chris Mathias, D-Boise, asked Moon.

“I cannot give you any example personally,” Moon responded.

Moon’s bill also requires voters to show proof of U.S. citizenship, with the important caveat that an Idaho driver’s license would not be proof of citizenship. But a concealed carry permit would.

In addition, student ID would no longer count as acceptable identification.

We know that in the view of some Idaho Republicans, “voting shouldn’t be easy,” as Rep. Mike Moyle, R-Star, now infamously said on the House floor last year.

We could understand the need for such legislation if we could see proof of the problems that Moon is speculating about. There is none. There is no proof here upon which to write these laws.

All we see are fears, rumors, speculation, misinformed statements and, in the end, the “big lie.”

This story was originally published February 8, 2022 at 9:56 AM.