MY TURN: League of Women Voters suing state of Idaho

For the first time in its 75-year history, the League of Women Voters of Idaho is suing the State of Idaho. We have many years of cooperation with and respect for Idaho election officials and we believe deeply in the rights of citizens to choose their representatives. After the Legislature passed HB 124 and HB 340, we were honor bound to seek judicial protection of voting rights.

For decades, Idaho has struck a reasonable, measured balance between election security and voter access. Over the years, the system has been refined by the Legislature through small changes that improved election integrity while preserving access. The Legislature expanded the number of forms of IDs allowed for voting and registration as well as for proving residency. The Legislature and election officials routinely encouraged eligible citizens to vote, and that principle was demonstrated by Idaho statutes.

Unfortunately, the equilibrium began to shift dramatically during the 2021 legislative session. Even though any kind of voter fraud rarely occurs, a barrage of legislation was introduced to limit voter access to the polls. Bills were introduced to change absentee balloting, voter ID, ballot boxes, same day registration and personal affidavits. This assault on voting rights was repeated in the 2022 and 2023 legislative sessions.

The 2023 session saw the passage of HB124 and HB340, affecting voting ID and voter registration respectively. For the first time since IDs were required, bills were passed to restrict access to the ballot box. Student IDs were eliminated as valid ID for voting, and eligible Idahoans now must have a current state or federal issued ID, current tribal ID or current concealed weapons permit for registering to vote and must also prove residency from a narrower list of acceptable documents.

While HB124 affects students who had previously been able to vote using their photo IDs from accredited educational institutions, HB340’s ID limitations hit both students and many more vulnerable Idaho citizens.

For people who are able-bodied and have cars, flexible working hours, and a certified birth certificate, getting a current state ID might not be too challenging. But for people like Terry who live in a care facility, obtaining a current ID to register to vote is impossible. While Terry has voted in Idaho before, once he moved to a care facility, he needed to re-register. His ID is more than two years expired because he can’t drive anymore, and many of his personal documents were lost in the move. Even if he had all the required documentation for a new ID, physically getting to a DMV office is medically and physically impossible. Additionally, Idaho has no provision for issuing off-site identification. Under the new voter registration regime adopted with HB340, Terry and other home-bound Idahoans are disenfranchised.

Prior to the passage of HB 340, volunteers from the League would have gone to Terry’s care facility, helped him complete the voter registration form and absentee ballot request and delivered the forms to the county clerk’s office. The office would have verified the last 4 digits of his SSN along with his name and birth date. Terry would have then been registered and able to exercise his constitutional right to vote. But now, after HB 340, that’s no longer the case.

We are left asking “Who is served by restricting voting access and why now?” The League of Women Voters was founded by the leaders of the suffrage movement and that historic struggle makes League members determined to protect the voting rights of Idahoans.

HB 340 is disenfranchising vulnerable Idahoans, and we sued the state to restore their access to the ballot.

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Kendal Shaber, League of Women Voters of Idaho board member, of Boise.