McGrane talks Idaho election security

COEUR d’ALENE — Idahoans are turning out to vote in record numbers and reporting increased confidence in election security, said Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane. 

McGrane sat down with The Press on Wednesday to discuss the future of Idaho’s elections, the day after he testified before the U.S. House Administration Subcommittee on Elections. 

“The fact that Idaho had a seat at the table is a pretty cool thing,” he said. 

In Washington, D.C., McGrane touted Idaho’s achievements during the 2024 election cycle, including the implementation of the Only Citizens Will Vote Act, an executive order signed last year by McGrane and Idaho Gov. Brad Little. 

“That was a good example of us leading the way, especially on a topic that the White House and Congress are particularly engaged in,” he said. 

The order directed the Secretary of State’s Office to partner with Idaho State Police and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to check immigration records and compare them against voter rolls. 

“We winnowed it down and were able to identify 34 individuals who were on our voter rolls who were not citizens and were able to remove them prior to the election,” McGrane said. “No non-citizens voted last year.” 

He acknowledged that the number of non-citizens on voter rolls in the state of Idaho was tiny. 

“Most non-citizens want to become citizens,” he said. “They also view voting as a privilege that comes with citizenship.” 

McGrane touched on the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, known as the SAVE Act, a proposed federal law which would require voters to present a document that proves U.S. citizenship when registering to vote. He said he doubts the legislation will go anywhere but highlighted its similarities to Idaho’s updated voter registration requirements. 

Measures meant to increase election security can create unintended obstacles for eligible voters, McGrane said. 

“We ran into this with Idaho’s new law,” he said. 

In the past, voters could register with an out-of-state driver’s license along with documentation proving their Idaho residency. Under the updated requirements, voters without a passport or another form of federal photo ID must produce an Idaho driver’s license or Idaho ID card. 

McGrane said he pushed for the updated voter ID requirements to allow out-of-state driver's licenses for the purpose of identity, not for the purpose of residency. 

“I would love to see changes,” he said. “I can’t get the Legislature quite there.” 

Elections staff have encountered instances where name changes made it more difficult for eligible voters to prove their identity and residency, McGrane said. Some populations are affected more than others, such as married women who have changed their surnames. 

“Women who have name changes have more paperwork that they have to navigate than anyone else,” McGrane said. “We had to work through that with folks.” 

McGrane said he’s proud of Idaho's 2024 election and looking ahead to what’s in store for 2025, including local elections in May and city races in November. 

The latter elections will be the ones to watch, he said, especially in Kootenai County, where such races tend to have a different tone and tenor than county or legislative contests. 

“City elections are different from other elections,” he said. “If there’s anywhere that local elections are more feverish, it’s here (in Kootenai County).”