Voting

Stand Up and Be Counted

Qualifying

To vote in Idaho, you must be a resident of Idaho and the county in which you are voting for 30 days prior to an election. You must be 18 and either registered with your county clerk up to 25 days prior to the election or you can register at your polling place on the day of the election with your driver’s license or other state issued identification, and proof of address.

Registering

To register with your County Clerk you must provide your driver’s license or state issued identification number or the last four digits of your Social Security Number. You can register in person or by mail (if your registration is post-marked 25 days before the election). You must reregister every time you have a change in address or name.

In Idaho, you can also register on Election Day by bringing a document with your valid name and address (such as a utility bill) and a driver’s license or state issued photo identification to your polling place. College students can bring their student identification and a current fee statement from their college to register.

Party Affiliation

In Idaho, when you register to vote you must choose a political party or choose Unaffiliated. In primary elections, unless a political party chooses to allow people outside the party to participate in its primary, only voters registered with a political party may vote for their party’s nominees. In other words, registered Republicans may vote only for Republican candidates and registered Democrats may vote only for Democratic candidates. Persons registered as Unaffiliated may not vote for partisan candidates in primary elections unless the party decides to allow them. An unaffiliated voter may affiliate with a party up to or on Election Day.

Voter Identification

Idaho requires voters to show a state issued photo identification at their polling place or sign a Personal Identification Affidavit if they cannot or choose not to present a state issued photo identification.

Early Voting

In Idaho, all registered voters have the option to vote by absentee ballot. Ballot applications must be requested in writing from the voter’s County Clerk, and requests must be received by the County Clerk no later that 11 days before an election. Absentee ballots will be sent to voters in the mail and must be returned to the County Clerk on or before 8:00 PM on Election Day.

Registered voters may also vote in person before Election Day at early voting sites. County clerks can provide you with the dates, times, and locations or early voting sites. Early voting ends in all counties at 5:00 PM on the Friday before Election Day.