- How to vote
- Keeping Informed
- Election Results
- Redistricting and Reapportionment
- Milestones in Idaho Voting Rights
How to Vote
Vote Idaho is Idaho’s official election website. Use it to check or update your voter registration, request an absentee ballot, or find your polling place. It also provides links to Idaho County Clerks.
Keeping Informed
Get a sample ballot:
- From your county clerk.
- From a local news source.
Review the election timeline:
- Idaho Secretary of State, Elections Division – The Idaho Secretary of State posts Idaho’s election calendar, election results, and historic election information.
Follow the news. Here are a few tips:
- Use more than one source of news.
- Make sure you get information about local, national, and international events.
- Find sources that cover topics of special interest to you.
- Use fact checking websites to review claims, or fact check using public documents.
- Learn about issues in depth by reading articles, books, or reports, or watching documentaries.
Here are a few resources for keeping up on Idaho politics:
- Idaho Public Television
- Idaho Debates
- Idaho In Session – Stream Idaho legislative sessions and committee meetings.
- Idaho Reports – This show provides weekly updates about what is happening in the Idaho legislature. Stay informed by reading the blog, downloading the podcast, streaming from a computer, or watching on broadcast channel KAIDHD 4.1.
- Idaho Legislature web site
Here are some resources for keeping up on national politics:
- Review current legislative activities at Congress.gov
- Get background on issues by reading Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports
- Get campaign finance information from the Federal Election Commission (FEC)
Election Results
Idaho Election Results, Idaho Secretary of State Elections Division
The Green Papers – The Green Papers is site that posts extremely detailed election result information for the entire United States.
Redistricting and Reapportionment
Decennial Census data is used to adjust legislative and congressional district boundaries to match the current population. For more information, visit our page on the Census, and our page on Reapportionment and Redistricting
Idaho State Legislative and Congressional District Maps, Idaho Secretary of State
In 2020, the Idaho Legislature passed HB413 which requires cities of more than 100,000 to elect city council members by district.
Milestones in Idaho Voting Rights
- 1870 February 3 – Fifteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
- “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.“ 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Primary Documents in American History, Library of Congress.
- 1882 May 6 – Chinese Exclusion Act
- Chinese Exclusion Act Records at the National Archives at Seattle
- Repealed by the Chinese Exclusion Repeal (Magnuson) Act of 1943
- 1896 November 3 – Idaho Women’s Suffrage Amendment
- SJR 2 Art. 6 Sec. 2. Extend to women the equal right of suffrage. Idaho Constitutional Amendment History, Idaho Secretary of State Elections Division.
- 1912 November 5 – Idaho Initiative and Referendum Amendment
- SJR 12 Art. 3 Sec. 1 Give electorate power to propose referendum vote on any act/measure passed by Legislature and approve/reject same at polls. Idaho Constitutional Amendment History, Idaho Secretary of State Elections Division.
- 1950 November 7 – Idaho Indian Right to Vote Amendment
- HJR 2 Art. 6 Sec. 3. Indians right to vote, serve as jurors, hold civil office. Idaho Constitutional Amendment History, Idaho Secretary of State Elections Division.
- 1962 November 6 – Constitutional Amendment to permit Chinese, Japanese and other citizens of Mongolian descent full rights as citizens of the state
- SJR1 Art. 6 Sec. 3 Idaho Constitutional Amendment History, Idaho Secretary of State Elections Division.
- 1964 July 2 – Civil Rights Act of 1964
- The Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle for Freedom, Exhibit, Library of Congress.
- November 2 1982 – Idaho Remove Old Voter Disqualifications from the Constitution
- HJR 7 Art. 6 Sec. 3 Removes voter disqualification from constitution including old anti-Mormon language. Idaho Constitutional Amendment History, Idaho Secretary of State Elections Division.
- Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002
Updated by rjoiner on October 28, 2021.