Officials say Idaho’s elections are secure

BOISE — Idaho’s chief election officer on Wednesday gathered with county clerks from around the state to urge Idahoans to vote with confidence this November.

“There’s been so many questions regarding elections over the past four years and beyond, and one of the things we wanted to do was come together as a group to reiterate to Idahoans our commitment to the integrity, the security and the accessibility of our elections,” Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane said at the news conference outside the Capitol.

McGrane and the county clerks stood on the Capitol steps to unveil a letter signed by all the election officials to show their shared commitment to conducting secure elections and to share the steps the state takes to accomplish this.

McGrane told the Idaho Press that in a recent meeting regarding elections with community leaders, the office was encouraged to share the election security steps that are taken, as many people were unaware of them.

Power County Clerk Sharee Sprague highlighted the accessibility of voting and finding voter information at voteidaho.gov. On the website, Idahoans may register to vote, find a personalized sample ballot by entering a name and date of birth, and request an absentee ballot.

People may also register at their county clerk’s office or at the polls.

Nez Perce County Clerk Patty Weeks noted the security measures that clerks take to ensure election integrity.

“We look, we lock and we log,” Weeks said.

She said officials look over voter photo identification to ensure it meets requirements under Idaho law for registration and voting. Officials also look at signatures on absentee requests and ballots and compare them to ensure they match.

Weeks said the officials lock the ballots, lock the equipment, and they log ballot access and other activities.

The state’s elections are accurate, Bannock County Clerk Jason Dixon said. He also serves as the president of the Idaho Association of County Records and Clerks.

Voting systems and equipment used in Idaho have been vetted and tested by the Elections Assistance Commission, Dixon said.

He also said he was “surprised to find that most people don’t know” that clerks hold a logic and accuracy test on the voting machines before every election.

After the election, Dixon noted, counties are randomly selected to do an audit in which a sample selection of ballots are hand-counted.

“It is a wonderful experience and it proves only how accurate we are, as we have only ever been off in multiple audits by one ballot, which is fantastic,” Dixon said.

McGrane said his office and all the clerks’ offices have received numerous questions over the last four years about election security and systems, and Monday’s event was meant to provide some of that information.

For example, he said many people didn’t know Idaho had voting and registration photo ID requirements, or that audits refer back to the original paper record of the ballot, not the machines to verify election results. He also said many people didn’t know voting machines are never connected to the internet.

“These are really common-sense practices that we put in place no matter what county you’re in to make sure that the system works well,” McGrane said. “So this really is in response to all the questions.”

Guido covers Idaho politics for the Lewiston Tribune, Moscow-Pullman Daily News and Idaho Press of Nampa. She may be contacted at lguido@idahopress.com and can be found on Twitter @EyeOnBoiseGuido.