Idaho decision 2024: Breaking down voter registration

Idaho Matters

(Emilie Ritter Saunders / Boise State Public Radio)

Tuesday, Sept. 17 is National Voter Registration Day, and 2024 marks a historic election year. In November, voters will decide the future of our country for the next four years, as well as many key state and local races.

Because it’s a presidential election year, there’s been a lot of focus on not just who gets elected but also on how our election system works at both a national and local level.

To answer the questions that have come up this election season, we asked Idaho's secretary of state, Phil McGrane, to join Idaho Matters each Tuesday to take a closer look at these issues.

Read the full transcript below.

GAUDETTE: From the studios of Boise State Public Radio News. I'm Gemma Gaudette. This is Idaho Matters. Today is National Voter Registration Day, and 2024 marks an historic election year. In November, voters will decide the future of our country, at least for the next four years, as well as numerous key state and local races. Now, because it is a presidential election year, there has been a lot of focus on not just who gets elected, but also on how our election system works at both a national as well as a state and local level. So to answer the questions that have come up this election season, we've asked Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane to join us each Tuesday leading up to Election Day to take a closer look at these issues. And Phil is joining us now to chat more. Always nice to have you on the program.

McGRANE: Thank you. Gemma. It's always great to be with you.

GAUDETTE: Okay, so as I mentioned, it is National Voter Registration Day today and the whole month of September is devoted to to registration, is that correct? I mean, how did this idea come about?

McGRANE: Yeah. National Voter Registration Day has been going on for a while, and it kind of varies each year. Um, earlier, as you know, we, uh, had a proclamation declaring September voter registration month here for the state of Idaho. And really, this is the opportunity for Idaho voters to update their registration. So if someone say, is turning 18 and they need to register to vote for the first time, right now is a wonderful opportunity to do it. If they've just moved to Idaho, it's a good time to register. But one of the areas I really want to just focus on is for all of the voters who voted in elections in the past. Right now is a great time to make sure your registration is current. Uh, a large percent of Idahoans move between presidential elections, and we want to make sure everybody's ready to go so that as the presidential election comes up, they have everything in place and are going to be able to easily vote, whether absentee, early or in person.

GAUDETTE: Okay, before we get into the nitty gritty of all of that, um, Phil, voter registration rules are different in every state, aren't they?

McGRANE: They are. You know, one of the things that makes our elections unique and it really kind of fits our federalist system, is all 50 states run their elections according to their state, and just each state has a little different makeup, so the rules can be slightly different. Um, voter registration exists in almost every state, so it's pretty common. Voters are familiar with it, but there are some things that make it unique, whether, you know, for us in Idaho, uh, showing photo identification and proof of residence in order to register to vote, or as I know you and I will probably talk about it a little bit more, is we have same day registration, which is one of the really cool things in Idaho, to make sure that anybody can register to vote, even when it comes all the way up to Election Day.

GAUDETTE: Okay. So I want to talk about the rules here in Idaho and and what you need to register to vote. So number one, um, even though there might be misnomers about this. You must be a US citizen. So how do you prove that?

McGRANE: That's true. So you must be a US citizen. You must be 18 years old, and you do actually have to go through the process of registering. One of the changes that we've had over the past couple of years, that's of note is the requirement to show photo ID, so you must have a state issued photo ID, could be driver's license or an ID card, or your passport, military ID, concealed weapons permit or tribal ID, uh, each of those. So something just basically to prove you are who you say you are. So one of those official forms of identification. And then in addition, you need something that proves your residence to show that you are an Idahoan and you are eligible at the address you're at. Um, usually. So that citizenship question is proved. Most often people use their driver's license overwhelmingly. That's what we see. And often the driver's license also has people's current address. So most common people will have everything they need in one stop. Um, beyond that for residency, things like a utility bill, a rental agreement. Often insurance in your glove box for your car is one of the easiest things for people to access and show their residence address. But we do have to. The person has to prove they are who they say they are, and they live where they say they live in order to be able to register to vote.

GAUDETTE: Okay, let's talk about someone who is 18 and they're registering to vote for the very first time. This is going to happen in our house in a couple of years.

McGRANE: That's exciting.

GAUDETTE: I know right. So my my son has a driver's license, but I mean, the utility bills are not in his name, nor is the mortgage. Be nice if it was, it is not. So how then would someone who's 18, living at home or maybe even going to college and maybe in a different part of the state would register to vote?

McGRANE: Yeah, I think, you know, you're touching on a really important question. First and foremost, most instances, just like your son, they're going to have a driver's license. That driver's license is going to have their address because it's where they've lived that's going to be the easiest. And anybody who has an Idaho driver's license or Idaho ID card can do all of this online at VoteIdaho.gov. It's really easy. We actually, in real time, as someone goes in and registers, we go and compare the information they provide us with what driver's license records have to validate someone's identification. So it's a really slick, easy process. So that that's the safest and easiest way. But we are on Boise State Public Radio. And so for all those students who are considering registering for the first time, I think one of the things to emphasize is someone we want people to vote first and foremost. And really the first question is just where do you live? Is Boise now your home? And that's where you consider your residence? Or is there another part of the state of Idaho or another state that's your home? One of the common questions we get is, say someone has a Wyoming driver's license, but they want to register to vote here. That actually raises a question. They have to decide whether they're from Wyoming or they're from Idaho. You can't have a driver's license of a different state and claim residency and vote in another state. You have to pick basically which state you consider home and get the same documentation in all forms. Now, every state has some form of absentee voting, and in Idaho it's really important. Doesn't matter if a student goes off to school somewhere else or overseas, they are eligible to vote in our elections, and our office and the county clerk's offices can easily assist anybody who needs help navigating that process.

GAUDETTE: Okay, so you mentioned registering online. Is there a deadline Phil, on on how long you can register online.

McGRANE: There is a deadline that'll be coming up. Um, the pre-registration deadline for this election is October 11th. Uh, that will be the cutoff prior to Election Day that people need to get their registration in. So that's part of why we've emphasized voter registration month here in September is this is the best time to do it? However, if someone doesn't get their registration done by that October 11th date, they can still do it when they vote in person, either early voting or on election day through same day registration.

GAUDETTE: So let's talk about this registration on Election Day. This is highly unique to Idaho. I've lived in other states and I don't remember there being another state I've lived in where you can actually register to vote on Election Day. So first off, why is that so important and why does Idaho do it?

McGRANE: Yeah, there's kind of two systems out there largely. So I believe there's ten states right now that do same day registration. Idaho was an early adopter back in 1994. This is all part of the National Voter Registration Act. Um, most states people are familiar with motor voter. It's where when you go get your driver's license, they automatically try to register you to vote through that process. We don't do that here in Idaho. You actually have to go choose to register to vote here in our state. But an advantage that we have with it is on election day we have same day registration. So if someone didn't get their information updated or they just haven't forgot to get their registration in before the deadline, they can still show up on election day. Bring photo ID, bring proof of residence. They can fill out the registration form there with the election officials and get a ballot and vote at the same time.

GAUDETTE: Okay, so they need to make sure they have that proper identification..

McGRANE: They do need ID, yes to register. I think this is an important question for listeners to register to vote, you do have to have photo ID and proof of residence for Election Day. If you're already registered, you'll be asked for ID and there is an affidavit, but the affidavit does not apply to the registration process itself.

GAUDETTE: Okay, so what about if on Election day you want to register and you maybe because you haven't registered to vote before, you don't know where your polling location is, or you see one down the street, but maybe that's actually not your polling location. Does that matter when you go to register on Election Day?

McGRANE: In terms of the registration, it doesn't. But you want to get to your polling location. Everybody's polling location is specific to where they live. And just like you said, we've all driven down the street and seen vote here signs. You can't just go to any vote here sign. And I'm sure we'll talk about this more. As you get closer to election, you need to go to your polling place. The easiest thing for everybody. It doesn't matter what part of the state you're in is visit voteIdaho.gov There. Not only can you register to vote, but you can also look up your registration information, find out where your polling location is. And one of the things we'll be talking about more here coming up is we for the first time, we'll have sample ballots that people will be able to view at Vote Idaho.Gov so they can see what races they're voting on, what candidates and what issues they're going to be being asked when they get their ballot.

GAUDETTE: So what about folks who might think they're registered to vote? Um, or they want to check? How do they do that?

McGRANE: Yep. Easiest thing. VoteIdaho gov. Um, you can look up your voter record and you can see double check that you're registered and make sure your address is current on your registration as well as see, you know, what legislative district, what congressional district and other things you're registered to vote in.

GAUDETTE: What about polling locations, Phil. Because I've lived in the same house for going on. I mean, going on eight years. In that time, our polling location has changed. Um, and, and that's, I think, kind of typical, right, with growth and all of that. So let's say I want to go and make sure I know where my polling location is. Do I go to the same website?

McGRANE: Yep. You know, one of the things our office has worked really hard on over the last year is the new VoteIdaho.Gov website. We launched it back in February, and it really is meant to be a one stop shop for all Idahoans. So whether you're someone registering for the very first time. Or like you Gemma, you're trying to look up to make sure you know your polling location or say, you're like me and you're an election nerd, and you want to see campaign finance data and some of the other cool tools about people moving to Idaho. All of that information is all available at the same location, Voteidaho.gov. Similarly, as the election gets close and we get to Election Day, we'll have all of our results posted statewide uh, at Voteidaho.gov. So really trying to make it a simple, memorable space for Idaho voters to go to. I think that's one of the really important things that our office is focused on, is trying to make it easy for Idahoans to exercise their vote and have a voice in this election that is so important, both nationally and here in the state of Idaho.

GAUDETTE: There's been a push in a lot of states to check voter rolls for people who should not be registered. The the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, recently announced that he actually took more than a million ineligible voters off the rolls. Does Idaho have a system to check this sort of thing.

McGRANE: Yeah. With voter registration, I think it's an important part of the process is that we're always actively maintaining our voter rolls, trying to keep them as current as we possibly can. So, you know, one of the great things I've had the cool opportunity to share is just the voters moving to Idaho. Part of that process is when someone registers to vote, we actually ask for your last known address, and that's so we can share information between the 50 states. So say someone moves here from California, they register to vote here in Idaho, it's important that our office notifies the California Secretary of State's office that somebody has moved so that they can keep their rolls clean. Beyond that, we're on a monthly basis doing checks against vital statistics for death records, against Department of Corrections for people who have been incarcerated. Um, there's numerous other checks. Citizenship is one of the big things. There was an executive order from Governor Little back in July, and our office has been working with both the Idaho Department of Transportation as well as Department of Homeland Security, just to verify that our rolls are current and that everybody who's on our voter rolls is eligible to vote in this upcoming election.

GAUDETTE: I want to go back to two things that you mentioned, and this is people moving in and out of state, or even if someone passes away. So let's start with, um, if someone does die, how do you know and how do you take their name off the rolls? I'm assuming it's the one thing you do is like, you, you check, uh, very often.

McGRANE: Yeah, that's one of the things. So working with all of the counties, we do vital records, checks all of the time. So we have processes in place, and our systems are all connected so that we can easily do validation. So as vital statistics is notified of deaths, um, we get that information. We're also working on a process with the Social Security Administration to keep those records current as well. I think, you know, in this day and age, with the way that technology works, we're more networked and able to share information between government entities. And I think that's really important for voters. And both makes the process simpler. But it also keeps things more accurate. And that's certainly one of the things our office is focused on as we head towards November, is making sure everyone can have confidence that they're registered and the process is working, just like we talked about earlier, but also to make sure that there isn't any records that are stale or old on our voter registration rolls as well. And so it's a very active process that we're doing all of the time for a variety of different searches, because we want people to have confidence in the process.

GAUDETTE: So you mentioned that when someone moves into Idaho and you've asked for that previous address, you then notify the state they just moved from. Is that process reversed if someone moves out of Idaho?

McGRANE: It is. Yep. We routinely get information from other states updating us on people that moved. I think that's one of the things. It's one of the things talking with my peers, the other secretaries of state. We're always trying to come up with better processes for sharing that information. That's been a big national conversation over the past couple of years that we participate in is just how do we share information better across the country. And that's just one of many steps that we're doing to keep things up to date. You know, I think the biggest focus right now, though, with the presidential election is just helping people get their information updated. And hopefully the the new Vote Idaho website is going to make it as easy as possible for people. And we can get people there both updating the registration, registering for the first time. And as you and I talked about last week, being able to recruit a few of those folks to even become poll workers as we head into this important election.

GAUDETTE: You know, there has been a lot of controversy over non-U.S. citizens being registered to vote. You know, this as secretary of state. And again, I want to mention Texas, because the governor there, Greg Abbott, also said he took 6500 non-U.S. citizens off the rolls, and he accused some of them of voting illegally. Um, this is a hot button issue, but I think it's necessary that we talk about it. In your opinion, how big of an issue is this and is it happening as often as, you know, we are hearing about?

McGRANE: You know, it's a really timely question. As I mentioned, Governor Little and I participated in an executive order back in July highlighting the importance of citizens are the only ones eligible to vote to vote. It's both federal law as well as state law requiring citizenship to vote. And our office has been going through a process, I would say similar to other states, I don't think it's fair to compare to those that have made, you know, the the splashy headlines in the same way. But we've been working with our partners, both federally and here in the state, to review our roles, to make sure that everything is working. And one of the things I can say, we've already validated that in our process. Anyone who goes to vote Idaho and registers, or anyone who fills out a paper card, we have safeguards in place in the system not to allow a citizen to go through the process and register. That said, we're still going through and validating our information, and I think one of the things that's really highlighted is both ensuring that non-citizens can't register, but also ensuring that we have a clean, smooth process for those people who become citizens. Naturalization ceremonies happen routinely. And we really, you know, one of the biggest things for our new citizens to be able to participate in is to vote in an election. That's one of the things they really work hard for. And so we've been working with Department of Homeland Security to validate our roles. Um, to your ultimate question, we do not see any high numbers of non-citizens trying to register to vote or and definitely not voting. There are cases that have happened in Idaho and ones that we've pursued, both of non-citizens registering and voting. But those numbers are limited, and we're really making sure that we have the safeguards in place. I think we've had a good system, but we can always make it better. And that's one of the things our office is actually currently working on.

GAUDETTE: One of the things I wanted to talk with you about before we go is you are really saluting military and veteran voters this week. Can you talk about what's going to be happening? Because I believe in just a couple of hours. There's going to be an event.

McGRANE: Yes. In addition, today being national voter registration, today, we are also having this is our salute to military and veteran voters week's voter week. Um, this afternoon, Governor Little and I will be out at Gowen Field. Our office is doing a voter registration drive there, and we'll also be having a proclamation just encouraging our military members to participate in the upcoming election. And then also, we're partnering this week with some organizations. So one in particular is Vet the Vote. It's a national organization that is encouraging veteran participation in the process and most notably, becoming poll workers. You and I talked about poll workers last time. Um, mission 43, as well as Vet the vote are recruiting veterans to get trained. So later this week, we'll be doing a training for new poll workers among veterans. Trent Tripple, the Ada County clerk, is a vet himself. He and I have worked closely together, both when I was at Ada County and now in this role. And so we're really excited to celebrate our military members and to have people who've already given a lot to our country to give a little bit more as we get into this presidential election and help serve as poll workers in this important process.

GAUDETTE: Okay. Really quick, as you said, we talked about poll workers last week and that you still needed volunteers. I know you're going to try to get some military and vets to do that. You still need regular citizens to to potentially be poll workers.

McGRANE: Yes we do. We are always looking for poll workers. And right now, as we talked last week, presidential election is really big. So we takes a lot of people in the community to pull this off. So anyone listening who's interested visit VoteIdaho.Gov. And under the resources tab you can see the information about becoming an election worker.

GAUDETTE: And that's the same website. If you need to register to vote.

McGRANE: Correct. It's all it's our one stop shop.

GAUDETTE: All right. Well, as always, so nice to have you on the program. And thank you for talking with us about these really important issues as we continue to head towards Election Day. Thanks so much for your time.

McGRANE: Thank you. Gemma look forward to next week.

GAUDETTE: Thanks so much for listening to Idaho Matters. Boise State Public Radio and Idaho Matters are members of the NPR network. It's an independent coalition of public media podcasters. You can find more shows in the network wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Gemma Gaudette. We'll see you tomorrow.