Last week, we listed this bill as H 0088 that made it a felony to collect and deliver more than two (2) absentee ballots. The League gave testimony opposing it. The bill was then changed to allow six (6) ballots, but now requires that ballots can only be collected from close family members. It has a new bill number, H 0223. It will be receiving a hearing soon and you may provide written or remote testimony by contacting the Senate State Affairs Secretary Twyla Melton at sstaf [at] senate.idaho.gov.

Description: Makes it a felony to collect more than six (6) ballots, and only from family defined within “2nd degree of consanguinity”. This means that anyone who collects an absentee ballot from a non-family member, such as an elderly neighbor or nursing home residents, etc. will be charged with a felony. 

Bill Status: Passed by the House, on its way to Senate State Affairs Committee

League Position: Oppose - League supports “a vote by mail election system in Idaho that is secure, accurate, recountable, and accessible with particular focus on measures that address concerns about accessibility and security of voting by mail.” (adopted in May of 2009) The League is certainly against ballot collecting for fraudulent purposes. What the League does not like about the bill is the possibility of inhibiting legal and legitimate assistance to voters casting their absentee ballots. Voter assistance is allowed and is not evidence of fraud. Ballot tampering is illegal and rightly so.

Call to Action – Email, write to or phone your state senator. Find their contact information here: https://legislature.idaho.gov/legislators/whosmylegislator/?address=

Suggested Script: "I am writing to oppose bill H 223. . ." or "As your constituent I urge you to oppose H 223…." Select a few talking points or write your own and include your address and phone number after your signature. If you have a personal story of how this would affect you, include it. Personal stories are effective.

• Every eligible voter’s vote should count, no matter how the vote is delivered.
• This bill inhibits legal and legitimate assistance to voters casting their absentee ballots.
• This bill prevents anyone from providing assistance to an elderly or disabled neighbor by delivering their ballot in case it will not arrive on time by mail.
• Idaho does not allow voters who make mistakes on their ballots to “cure” their ballots, so many ballots are already not being counted. Any additional requirements or restrictions on absentee ballots, such as what this bill proposes, can be considered a form of voter suppression.
• How will this be enforced?