Idaho

Idaho does not have a statewide post-Election Day absentee/mail ballot curing (correction) process. Some counties provide a signature curing process, and the deadline depends on the county. Contact your local election office for more information. You can also track your ballot using your state’s online tool.  

For information on federal campaign contributions, please visit Open Secrets.

For information on state campaign contributions, please visit your state's resource.

Information on local, state and federal candidates and ballot measures may be available here.

You can return your voted ballot to your local county clerk’s office. You can find the address of your county clerk here. 

Voting before Election Day at an absentee polling place is available in counties that choose to conduct early voting. Contact your county clerk for dates, times, and location of the absentee polling place in your county. Election Day registration is permitted at your polling place on Election Day as well as the Elections Department during Early Voting.

The next election date can be found here https://www.vote411.org/idaho.

For more election information contact your county clerk.

To be eligible to vote, you must be:

• A US citizen
• A resident of Idaho and in the county for 30 days before Election Day
• At least 18 years old before or on Election Day
• Not convicted of a felony. (If you have been convicted, you must have had your civil rights restored)

Incarcerated Voters & Returning Citizens: 

In Idaho, you are not eligible to vote until after you finish all parts of your sentence, including any probation, parole, or supervised release. At that time, you can register to vote. Pretrial detention and misdemeanor convictions do not restrict your voting rights. 

Voters without traditional residence: 

Idaho voters who do not have a permanent address or are currently experiencing homelessness have the option to provide a location where they typically stay or return to when absent as their address for voter registration. This can include the
address of a shelter they frequent or a description of a specific location, such as a park or street corner. If the individual does not receive postal service at their residence address, they may provide a separate mailing address, including the number, street, city, state, and zip code. The mailing address on their registration form can be a P.O. box, local shelter, advocacy organization, outreach center, or the home of someone who will accept mail for them. 

All new voter registrations will need to provide one of the approved proof of residence documents in order to complete the registration process:

• A current ID driver's license or identification card 
• A current passport or other identification card issued by an agency of the United States government 
• A current tribal identification card
• A current license or enhanced license to carry concealed weapons 

If you register to vote on or after July 1, 2023, and your residential address does not match what's on your driver's license, you will need to present a valid document that confirms your new address. You can bring one of the following documents to your county elections office or the polls to complete the registration process:

• Any of the above photo IDs with correct residence address
• Current proof of insurance
• Deed of trust, mortgage, lease or rental agreement
• A property tax assessment, bill, or receipt
• A utility bill, excluding a cellular telephone bill
• A bank or credit card statement
• A paystub, paycheck, or government-issued check
• An intake document from a residential care or assisted living facility
• Enrollment papers issued for the current school year by a high school, or an accredited institution of higher education located within the state of Idaho.
• A communication on letterhead from a public or private social service agency registered with the secretary of state verifying the applicant is homeless and attesting to the applicant’s residence for registration purposes.

If a voter is not able to show an acceptable ID, the voter will be given the option to sign the Personal Identification Affidavit.

All voters are required to show photo ID or sign a Personal Identification Affidavit to cast a regular ballot.

Acceptable forms of ID include:

• An Idaho driver's license or photo Identification Card
• A U.S. passport or Federal photo identification card
• A tribal photo identification card.
• A license to carry a concealed weapon issued by a county sheriff in Idaho

The name on the ID must match the name on the registration list in the poll book but common abbreviations and nicknames are acceptable.

NOTE: Beginning in 2024, student IDs issued by Idaho high schools or higher education institutions won't be accepted as a valid form of voter ID.

If you do not have an acceptable form of ID, you can get one from your local DMV. You must bring proof of age, residency, legal presence, name change (if applicable) and your Social Security number in order to obtain your new ID.

Also, if you do not have acceptable forms of ID you may be given the option to sign the Personal Identification Affidavit. Please ask in your polling location for this option if needed.

Voters can call or text 844-338-8743 at any time to reach VoteRiders Voter ID Helpline

All new voter registrations will need to provide one of the approved proof of residence documents in order to complete the registration process:

• A current ID driver's license or identification card 
• A current passport or other identification card issued by an agency of the United States government 
• A current tribal identification card
• A current license or enhanced license to carry concealed weapons 

If you register to vote on or after July 1, 2023, and your residential address does not match what's on your driver's license, you will need to present a valid document that confirms your new address. You can bring one of the following documents to your county elections office or the polls to complete the registration process:

• Any of the above photo IDs with correct residence address
• Current proof of insurance
• Deed of trust, mortgage, lease or rental agreement
• A property tax assessment, bill, or receipt
• A utility bill, excluding a cellular telephone bill
• A bank or credit card statement
• A paystub, paycheck, or government-issued check
• An intake document from a residential care or assisted living facility
• Enrollment papers issued for the current school year by a high school, or an accredited institution of higher education located within the state of Idaho.
• A communication on letterhead from a public or private social service agency registered with the secretary of state verifying the applicant is homeless and attesting to the applicant’s residence for registration purposes.

If a voter is not able to show an acceptable ID, the voter will be given the option to sign the Personal Identification Affidavit.

All voters are required to show photo ID or sign a Personal Identification Affidavit to cast a regular ballot.

Acceptable forms of ID include:

• An Idaho driver's license or photo Identification Card
• A U.S. passport or Federal photo identification card
• A tribal photo identification card.
• A license to carry a concealed weapon issued by a county sheriff in Idaho

The name on the ID must match the name on the registration list in the poll book but common abbreviations and nicknames are acceptable.

NOTE: Beginning in 2024, student IDs issued by Idaho high schools or higher education institutions won't be accepted as a valid form of voter ID.

If you do not have an acceptable form of ID, you can get one from your local DMV. You must bring proof of age, residency, legal presence, name change (if applicable) and your Social Security number in order to obtain your new ID.

Also, if you do not have acceptable forms of ID you may be given the option to sign the Personal Identification Affidavit. Please ask in your polling location for this option if needed.

Voters can call or text 844-338-8743 at any time to reach VoteRiders Voter ID Helpline

Official results are never available on Election Day. Election officials are working around the clock to count an unprecedented number of ballots, and it’s essential that they take the time to make sure every vote is counted.

Absentee ballots begin being counted on Election Day.

For Presidential elections, local results will be certified no later than 10 days after Election Day.

Officials estimate that nearly all votes will be reported within 21 days after Election Day. Official election results will be uploaded on Idaho’s Secretary of State website as they become available. 

You are a Military or Overseas voter if you are in uniformed services, living overseas OR a spouse or dependent of a uniformed services voter. To get registered and vote, you can utilize Overseas Vote Foundation.

If you have additional questions about elections and voting overseas you can use our state specific elections official directory or contact the Overseas Vote Foundation.

You can make sure we have safe, fair, and efficient elections for all. Become a poll worker today!

In order to be a poll worker in Idaho, you must:

• Political affiliation preferred
• It is recommended that you are a resident of the election district for the 30 days prior to the election
• Complete required training
• Be entitled to compensation
• Students with citizenship who are 16 years old may work

To sign up, contact your local board of elections.

Polls will be open from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm on Election Day.

You can find your polling place by utilizing your state resource.

If you have further questions on your polling place location, please contact your county clerk.

Idaho is a “partially closed” primary state. Each party has the ability to choose whether to allow unaffiliated voters or voters not registered with their party to participate in their primary. This decision is made 6 months before the primary election date each year. Unless the party chooses to allow voters not registered with their party to participate in the primary election, only voters registered with the party may vote in their primary.

When there are elections on nonpartisan issues or races scheduled on the same day as a party primary election, all registered voters can vote on the nonpartisan races.

If you have any questions about your state’s primary election, please contact your local election officials.

There is no provisional voting.

You may receive assistance to vote from any person of your choice. You may also ask for assistance from a poll worker.

Curbside assistance and home voting is available in special circumstances. Please make arrangements with your county clerk's office in advance.

Each polling place in the state will be equipped with a ballot marking device to assist voters who have difficulty reading or marking a ballot vote privately and independently. The ballot marking device is intended to assist the visually impaired, voters with disabilities and the elderly.

Visually impaired voters can use headphones to listen to an audio ballot and make their selections using a Braille keypad. The ballot marking device has a touch screen with a zoom feature to enlarge the ballot print and a contrast feature to make the ballot easier to read for some voters. The ballot marking device only marks a ballot. No votes are stored in the machine. Votes are counted by the election board of your county. You can review and change your selections before the device marks a paper ballot. If you are using the ballot marking device, you may request a new ballot from a poll worker if you make a mistake. Additional instructions will be available at the polls and poll workers are trained to help if you request their assistance.

For more information, you can utilize the American Association of People With Disabilities (AAPD) resource.

Click here to register to vote online! Online registration deadline is 25 days before Election Day. You will need a driver's license issued by the State of Idaho DMV, a state ID or the last 4 digits of your Social Security Number in order to register online. If you do not have any of these, you can still register in person or by mail.

You may also register to vote by mail. Mailed registration applications must be postmarked 25 days before the election in order to be accepted. 

Any person who is qualified to vote may register in person at the polls on election day by providing proof of residence. All documents used in providing proof of residence must be accompanied with a photo ID. Acceptable documents include:

• A valid Idaho driver's license issued through the Department of Transportation.
• A valid Idaho identification card issued through the Department of Transportation
• Any document which contains a valid address in the precinct together with a picture identification card
• A current valid student photo ID and a fee statement with an address in the precinct.

Not registered? Use our registration tool to fill out your application!

Time off to vote is subject to the employer, there is no requirement for employers to grant time off to vote for employees.

To verify your voter registration status

The voting systems used in Idaho are optical scan and hand-counted paper ballots.

Optical Scanning: With this system, you will receive a card or sheet of paper, which you take over to a private table or booth. The card has the names of the various candidates and ballot measures printed on it. With a pen or pencil you fill in a little box or circle or the space between two arrows. In some places, you can check your card or paper right there at the polling place by feeding it into a card-reading machine to make sure you have voted the way you want to. When you are finished filling out all the cards. You may bring the cards over to a ballot box, where poll workers will show you how to put the cards in the box. Or in some places, you may feed the completed cards or papers into a computer device that counts the votes. When Election Day is over, the computer counts how many votes were cast for each candidate.

Paper Ballots: Paper ballots are one of the oldest ways of voting in America. They are still used on Election Day. Paper ballots are mostly used for absentee ballots. When you come to the polling place, you will get a paper ballot from the poll worker. You take it to the voting booth, and use a pen or pencil to mark a box next to your candidate and issue choices. You then drop the marked ballot into a sealed ballot box. At the end of the day, votes are counted by poll workers reading the ballots.

You can learn more about voting systems by checking out the Elections Assistance Commission's (EAC) resource.