(Directive 2003-1)

The Secretary of State, pursuant to the authority of Sections 34-202 and 34-1203, Idaho Code, does hereby issue the

following directive:

All votes shall be determined in a fair and consistent manner for each voting system in the State. In all cases, inspection

boards must determine whether votes should be counted or rejected. The attached standards should be followed when

determining what is to be counted as a vote.

LAWERENCE DENNEY

Secretary of State

it is impossible to include all possible scenarios, these instructions are intended to assist the poll and election workers in

determining in a fair and consistent manner what should be counted as a vote for each voting system used in the state. In all

cases, inspection boards must determine whether ballots should be counted, rejected or duplicated. If the ballot has damage

or defects that would cause problems in a vote tally system a duplicate ballot should be generated.

If a voter places a mark or writes-in the names of more candidates for an office than are to be elected or nominated, no

vote shall be counted for any candidate for that office. The ballot is defective with respect only to that office, and the rest of

the ballot should be counted.

If a voter does not mark a candidate or issue, the votes for the other candidates or issues on the same ballot that are

office than are to be elected or nominated, the ballot is defective with respect only to that office. No vote

shall be counted for any candidate for that office.

• Name written-in. If a voter has written-in the name of a declared write-in candidate or a candidate filing a

declaration of candidacy, a vote shall be counted for that individual whether or not the voter makes a mark

(X) in the square opposite the blank. Please note, a partisan tally of write-ins must be kept in the primary

for an individual whereas the write-ins for an individual in the general election are cumulative. Remember

only the write-ins for an individual who has filed a Declaration of Intent are to be checked for validity. The

County Clerk will provide a list of such individuals. In the event a write-in is cast for a candidate whose name

appears on the ballot, the vote shall be counted provided it does not create an overvote. Write-ins in the

wrong office shall not be counted.

remaining name or marked candidate.

• Misspellings and abbreviations. Misspellings or abbreviations of the names of write-in candidates shall be

disregarded if the individual for whom the vote was intended can be ascertained from the ballot.

Pursuant to Section 34-702A and 34-1407, Idaho Code, no write-in vote for any office shall be counted unless a

declaration of intent or declaration of candidacy has been filed indicating that the person desires the office. Pursuant to

Section 34-1203, Idaho Code, when a ballot is sufficiently plain to determine therefrom a part of the voter’s intention, it shall

be the duty of the judges to count the vote. The minimum threshold for determination of a write-in vote is the surname within

the appropriate space.

The following guidelines are to assist in determining voter’s intent for a declared write-in candidate or candidate filing a

THIS VOTE SHOULD BE COUNTED AS A VALID WRITE-IN VOTE.

II. Voter has written-in an abbreviation or common nickname of the candidate’s first name and the surname of

the write-in candidate or candidate filing a declaration of candidacy under the office the candidate has filed a

declaration of intent or declaration of candidacy for and marked the box to the right.

THIS VOTE SHOULD BE COUNTED AS A VALID WRITE-IN VOTE.

III. Voter has written-in the complete name of the write-in candidate or candidate filing a declaration of

candidacy under the office the candidate has filed a declaration of intent or declaration of candidacy for and

did not make a mark in the box to the right.

candidacy under a different office the candidate has filed a declaration of intent or declaration of candidacy

for and marked the box to the right.

a. Candidate filed for county commissioner for the first district and wrote the name under county

commissioner for the second district.

b. Candidate filed for State Representative, position A and the name was written-in under position B.

THIS VOTE SHOULD NOT BE COUNTED AS A VALID WRITE-IN VOTE.

VI. Voter has written-in only the surname of the write-in candidate or candidate filing a declaration of candidacy

marked the box to the right.

THIS VOTE SHOULD NOT BE COUNTED AS A VALID WRITE-IN VOTE.

Optical and digital scan voting systems require that the elector place a mark in a pre-defined area on the ballot in order

to cast a vote. The vote shall be considered valid when the vote tabulator recognizes a mark within the predefined area unless

the ballot is rejected as being blank.

If the tabulation device rejects the ballot as being blank, and it appears that the reason is because the ballot was marked

consistently, but in a manner that it could not be read by the device, the ballot is to be duplicated in a machine readable

manner from the marks on the original ballot.

Pursuant to Section 34-702A, Idaho Code, no write-in vote for any office shall be counted unless a declaration of intent or

declaration of candidacy has been filed indicating that the person desires the office. Pursuant to Section 34-1203, Idaho Code,

when a ballot is sufficiently plain to determine therefrom a part of the voter’s intention, it shall be the duty of the judges to

count such part. The minimum threshold for determination of a write-in vote is the surname within the appropriate space.

The following guidelines are to assist in determining voter’s intent for a declared write-in candidate or a candidate filing a

declaration of candidacy.

I. Voter has written-in the complete name of the write-in candidate or candidate filing a declaration of

candidacy under the office the candidate has filed a declaration of intent or declaration of candidacy for and

marked the predefined area.

(Directive 2015-3)

In order to maintain uniformity in the application, operation and interpretation of the election laws of the State of Idaho,

and to facilitate the ballot rotation process, pursuant to Section 34-202, Idaho Code, the Secretary of State, does hereby issue

Pursuant to Section 34-903(4), Idaho Code, ballots for federal, state, county and city offices shall be rotated as outlined in

the attached “Ballot Rotation Directive 2015.”

LAWERENCE DENNEY

Secretary of State

the candidates up one (1) position until all candidates appear at the top of the list on a separate ballot to be printed.

NOTE: You may have a candidate appear at the top of one race more than once if you have another race with several

candidates as you are rotating all races each time. For example: If your largest race has 6 candidates and another race

has 4 candidates, the race with 4 candidates will have 2 candidates appear at the top of the list twice and the other 2

candidates will appear at the top of the list once due to the other office having 6 candidates.

5. After the ballots are printed for each rotation, they shall be kept in separate stacks for each change of

position (i.e. 6 candidates = 6 rotations = 6 stacks). These stacks are then combined either by hand as listed below

or you can have your printer combine (i.e. collate) them for you.

a. For combining by hand: Place each stack in a row side by side in the order in which you printed

rotations (i.e. base rotation first, 2nd rotation next, third rotation next, etc . Begin by taking one ballot from

would do if stacking by hand. Your print company may use a collator (i.e. a machine to stack ballots as

above) or they may have a printer that will do the same process. The goal is to have every other ballot in the

pile or pad of ballots to have the names in a different position as nearly equal.

Goal: To have each candidate’s name appear at the top of the candidate list for each office before an equal number of

voters within a particular county or city.

The rotation algorithm used by Election Systems and Software (ES&S) ensures that the candidate names will appear on

the top of the list on substantially an equal number of ballots based on total registered voters by precinct to within 1% of the

total registered voters within a county or district depending upon the race/office. This is part of the service provided by ES&S

and is not an extra charge to the county.

Rotation for all optical scan ballots shall be done by (ES&S) unless a county has purchased and is using the Election

precinct)?

The rotation appearing before the voters in the precinct with the smallest number of registered voters should be the

rotation used in the absentee precinct.

The number of Legislative Districts within a county determines the number of absentee precincts, unless your county has

multiple Congressional Districts then those are also taken into account along with Legislative Districts when determining the

number of absentee precincts required. A different rotation for each absentee precinct must be used. Begin by placing the

candidates in alphabetical order by surname within each office. This is considered the base rotation and is your first rotation

which is used for your first absentee precinct. Then rotate in consecutive order, for the remaining absentee precincts.

1. A list of all Federal, State, Legislative, Judicial and County candidates applicable to that election. Also need

for ballot layout but not rotation are any measures or ballot questions required to be placed on the ballot.

2. A list of all precincts in the county including:

a. The number of registered voters in each precinct. If you are using an absentee precinct, please refer

to Absentee precincts below.

b. Annotations by precinct of which offices apply to each precinct (i.e., Congressional District,

Legislative District, etc.).

begin entering the Office Titles, candidate names and ballot measures or questions into the ballot layout application and

designating the rotation for each precinct.

which is designated #1. NOTE: The write-in line does not rotate.

Remember the goal is to have the candidates appear at the top of the list as equal as possible.

1. List the precincts with the number of registered voters for each precinct in order from largest number of

registered voters to the smallest.

2. Assign each rotation style to a precinct or a combination of precincts equal to approximately the same

number of registered voters.

City 1 535 1

City 2 445 2

Jamestown 387 4

Dangle 134 3

Fishery 121 2

City 3 107 6

Bern 93 6

Moscow 80 3

Meyers Creek 67 6

Port 27 1

Absentee 0 1

Total 3,375

Rotation #5 will appear in front of 559 registered voters

*Absentee precincts -Which rotation is used when there are no registered voters in the precinct (i.e., an absentee

precinct)?

Once this information has been gathered and immediately following receipt of the certification of candidates and ballot

measures from the Secretary of State’s Office, ballot layout begins by calculating the required number of ballot faces (i.e.

rotations) and determining the rotation for each precinct. Once you have the rotation assignment completed, you can then

begin entering the Office Titles, candidate names and ballot measures or questions into the ballot layout application and

*Absentee precincts -Which rotation is used when there are no registered voters in the precinct (i.e., an absentee

precinct)?

The number of Legislative Districts within a county determines the number of absentee precincts, unless your county has

multiple Congressional Districts then those are also taken into account along with Legislative Districts when determining the

(Directive 2015-6)

In order to maintain uniformity in the application, operation and interpretation of the election laws of the State of Idaho,

and to facilitate the use of a polling place in the case of an emergency or when no other polling place location is available but

LAWERENCE DENNEY

Address of polling place including name of location, e.g. name of church, school, business.

Describe the features of the location that make it inaccessible. (Width of doors, number of steps, height of curbs, lack of

parking, etc.)

What modifications would be needed to make this location accessible?

Have you talked to the owners of the property about making these modifications? What was their response?

What efforts have you made to locate an accessible building or one that can be made accessible? Are there any such

buildings? Why did you reject them?

Describe any extenuating circumstances that the secretary of state should know in considering this request.

Name of County Clerk

Exemption granted.

Date of Request

Expires .

most common issues. For a complete description of the requirements for accessibility, please refer to the U.S. Department

of Justice ADA Standards for Accessible Design. You can see these standards at the following website: https://www.ada.

require one accessible parking space per 25 parking spaces provided (up to the first 100 spaces). One of six (or fraction of

six) accessible parking spaces, but always at least one, must be van accessible. Generally, the access aisle must be at least

60 inches wide for cars and 96 inches wide for vans. Van accessible spaces can also have an access aisle at least 60 inches

wide if the width of the van parking space is at least 132 inches. A sign, with the International Symbol of Accessibility, must

mark each accessible parking space. Van accessible spaces must be designated as such on the sign at these spaces. Accessible

parking spaces and the access aisles serving them must be on a surface that is stable, firm, and slip resistant (e.g., clear

of gravel or mud) without wide cracks or broken pavement and located on the closest accessible route to the accessible

Some voters with disabilities will be driven to the polling place and dropped off in a passenger drop- off area near the

entrance. If the polling place is served by passenger drop-off areas, then at least one drop-off area must be accessible. An

The accessible route must be at least 36 inches wide. It may narrow briefly to 32 inches wide, but only for a distance of up to

24 inches. (See Part 2 of this document for tips on taking measurements.) Whenever possible, the accessible route must be

the same as or near the general circulation path (i.e., the path for general pedestrian use).

Inside the polling place, there must be an accessible route from the entrance through hallways, cor- ridors, and interior

rooms leading to the voting area. The route must be free of abrupt changes in level, steps, high thresholds, or steeply sloped

walkways. The accessible route is essential for people who have difficulty walking or who use wheelchairs or other mobility

devices to get into the polling place and to the voting area. Where an accessible route is different from the general circulation

path, signs will be needed to direct voters with disabilities to the accessible route and to the voting area.

If any part of the accessible route - exterior or interior - has a slope greater than 1:20, it is considered a ramp and must meet

the requirements for ramps. (See Part 2 of this document for tips on measur- ing running slopes and cross slopes.) If any

part of the accessible route contains steps, it must be ramped. Even one short step at an entrance or in a hallway can prevent

access by a person using a wheelchair, walker, or cane and can make entry difficult for many people who have other mobility

disabilities. Interior and exterior ramps must not be too steep and must have a level landing at the bottom and top, and where

(Directive 2015-7)

While Section 34-1802(3), Idaho Code, gives the County Clerk sixty (60) calendar days before the deadline for the

submission of signatures to verify initiative petitions, there is no statutory time frame for checking referendum petitions.

In order to maintain uniformity in the application, operation and interpretation of the election laws of the State of Idaho,

and to facilitate the referendum process, pursuant to Section 34-202, Idaho Code, the Secretary of State, does hereby issue the

following directive:

1. Referendum petitions are required to be submitted to the Secretary of State’s Office no later than 60 days after the

final adjournment of the session of the state legislature which passed on the bill on which the referendum is demanded.

2. Due to the time-sensitive nature of collection, verification and submission of these petitions, referendum petitions

shall have priority over any initiative petitions that may be submitted to the County Clerk’s Office at the same time as the

referendum petitions.

period than two (2) working days for the first 200 signatures thereon, and on (1) additional working

day for each additional 200 signatures or fractions thereof, on the sheets presented to him, and at

the expiration of such time he shall deliver the same to the person from whom he received it with his

certificate attached thereto as above provided.”

5. Item 4 above sets for a reasonable minimum. The County Clerk and designated staff should make every effort to

check and verify every petition presented to the office.

LAWERENCE DENNEY

Secretary of State

Directive: 2015-7

Issued: October 2, 2015

(Directive 2015-8)

In order to maintain uniformity in the application, operation and interpretation of the election laws of the State of Idaho,

and to facilitate the registration and voting of students, pursuant to Section 34-202, Idaho Code, the Secretary of State, does

LAWERENCE DENNEY

Secretary of State

“(1) “Residence,” for voting purposes, shall be the principal or primary home or place of abode of a person. Principal or

(2) If a person claims an exemption under section 63-602G, Idaho Code, then the homestead for which the exemption is

business pursuits, employment, income sources, residence for income or other tax pursuits, residence of parents, spouse, and

children, if any, leaseholds, situs of personal and real property, and motor vehicle registration.

This code section sets forth the concept of a domicile (i.e. principal or primary home or place of abode of a person).

Idaho courts have held that “for a change of domicile to occur, the fact of physical presence at a dwelling place and the

intention to make it a home must concur and when such domicile is established, it persists until another is legally acquired.

Kirkpatrick v. Transtector Systems 114 Id. 559.”

The rules of the State Board of Education (IDAVA 08.01.04.005.08) define “domicile” as follows:

““Domicile” means an individual’s true, fixed, and permanent home and place of habitation; the place where the

individual intends to remain and to which the individual expects to return when he leaves without intending to establish a

new domicile elsewhere. The establishment of domicile in Idaho occurs when a person is physically present in Idaho primarily

and intends to remain permanently, or for an indefinite length of time, in the new location.

Some factors which should be considered when determining whether domicile has been established for voting purposes

by a student as well as any other applicant, are as follows:

• Where does the applicant call home?

• Has the applicant registered to vote elsewhere?

• If married, where does his or her spouse reside?

• Does the applicant have any community ties to the locale he claims as his domicile such as a membership in a

• Where does the applicant maintain his checking and saving accounts, if any?

• Where does the applicant pay taxes, and what address was listed as the residence on the last income tax

return?

• If the applicant is employed, where is the job located?

vote and the other aspects of the applicants life that registering can affect, such as eligibility for their student financial aid

package, other grants and scholarships, insurance eligibility, state financial payments, etc.

Students should not register and vote at their college location simply because they failed to register and vote or failed to

request an absentee ballot based on their true domicile. Registering to vote is a serious matter, which needs to be considered

carefully because if abused it can subject individuals to criminal penalties. Also, there is no federal right to vote for the office

of United States President at any location in the United States without meeting the requirements for registering and voting.

Individual state laws control registration and voting requirements and, for Idaho, State residency requirements must be met.

in the electoral process, however, they need to be registering and voting at their legal domicile.

(Directive 2017-2)

In order to maintain uniformity in the application, operation and interpretation of the election laws of the State of Idaho,

and to facilitate the upkeep of voter registrations, pursuant to Section 34-202, Idaho Code, the Secretary of State, does hereby

“Cancellation of Registrations Following Any General Election of Those Not Voting for Four Years.”

Within one hundred and twenty (120) days following the date of the general election in an even year,

the County Clerk shall examine the election register and the signed statements of challenge made at

that election. After this examination, the County Clerk shall immediately cancel the registration of any

elector who did not vote at any election in the past four (4) years.

registered in 2015 and later shall not be purged.

3. If an elector has not voted at any election mentioned in #1 above and registered in 2014 or before then the

registration shall be cancelled.

4. The Secretary of State recommends that a notice of cancellation be sent to each elector whose registration has been

cancelled for not voting in any election in the last 4 years. The Statewide Voter Registration System can generate the notice.

5. March 6, 2019 is the last day for the County Clerk to cancel registrations pursuant to Section 34-435, Idaho Code.

6. Section 34-436, Idaho Code, states that all correspondence relating to the cancellation of an elector’s registration

shall be retained for two (2) years.

7. If there is any doubt concerning the cancellation of an elector’s registration do not cancel.

LAWERENCE DENNEY

(Directive 2017-3)

The Secretary of State, pursuant to the authority of Section 34-202, Idaho Code, does hereby issue the following directive:

candidate in precincts where hand counted paper ballots are utilized as long as the electioneering laws covered in 18-2318,

Idaho Code, are not violated. The attached official opinion should be referenced when printed stickers for write-in candidates

are in question.

LAWERENCE DENNEY

Secretary of State

(Directive 2020-3)

To simplify candidate campaign finance filings, we are only requiring county positions to file a Campaign Finance

Account if they reach the $500 threshold according to Section 67-6608, Idaho Code. Until that threshold is met, the

a campaign finance account in the Secretary of State’s Campaign Finance Online Portal within 7 days of the $500 threshold

being met. This Directive specifically includes all county, city and local district positions. If a candidate has already filed their

Declaration of Candidacy for a 2020 Election, this can also be used as their C1.

LAWERENCE DENNEY

Secretary of State

Directive: 2020-3

Issued: June 30, 2020

(Directive 2020-4)

An electronic poll book (e-Poll Book) is typically hardware, software, or a combination of the two that allows County

2. The wireless access points connected to e-Poll Books will have 802.11w-2009 ‘ protected management

regarding receipt of absentee ballots throughout the day.

County elections officials should work closely with their e-Poll Book vendor to determine which option should be used at

When internet connectivity does not exist, the County Clerk and the precinct election board must be in communication

regarding the receipt of absentee ballots or absentee ballots received on election day cannot be processed until the polls close.

The statewide voter registration database is designed to identify matches to existing records when a new registration card

The same process should be followed in the electronic pollbook when handling new registrations. If a match is found,

the paper record suffices as the new registration, but the system should be told to “update” the record. Creating a new voter

profile in the electronic pollbook will leave the old voter profile active, which could result in a ballot being issued for each

profile.

(Directive 2021-1)

In order to establish signature verification standards pursuant to Section 34-202, Idaho Code, and to maintain uniformity

in the timelines and processes for curing signature mismatches, the Secretary of State does hereby issue the following

LAWERENCE DENNEY

Secretary of State

the voter registration system using the first name, middle name, last name, address, or any combination thereof. A signature

may not be rejected merely because:

registration records, as long as the handwriting is clearly the same and the middle name or initials match those

shown in the voter registration record;

(2) If the county clerk is unable to locate the person in the voter registration system, the signature shall be rejected as

not registered to vote.

(b) Does not match the signature in the voter registration record according to the standards in Part II, the

signature must be rejected.

that voter, the subsequent signature must be rejected as a duplicate.

(c) Agreement in the proportions of individual letters, height to width, and heights of the upper to lower case

letters;

(d) Irregular spacing, slants, or sizes of letters that are duplicated in both signatures;

(e) After considering the general traits, agreement of the most distinctive, unusual traits of the signatures.

a combination or cluster of shared characteristics. Likewise, there must be a cluster of differences to conclude that the

(i) For any qualified elector for whom the only contact information available is a mailing address, the

Pursuant to the authority of Section 67-6619, Idaho Code, the Secretary of State does hereby issue the following directive:

consumer price index (CPI-U) to one hundred thirty dollars ($130.00) for the 2023 and 2024 reporting periods.

Directive: 2023-01

To maintain the security and integrity of the electoral system, the Secretary of State does hereby issue Directive 2023-2

governing the Disposal of Election Equipment.

As governing bodies procure new election technologies, there will be a need to dispose of outdated election equipment.

Election officials must ensure any proprietary information, election data, and any personal information has been properly

sanitized from those devices before they are disposed of, sold, or destroyed.

This Directive provides procedures for election officials to follow prior to the disposal, sale, or destruction of election

equipment, and includes procedures for the disposal of voting technology purchased with Help America Vote Act (HAVA)

Attached is an Election Equipment Disposal Checklist and a sample Certification of Sanitization. These forms are

intended to assist election officials in complying with this Directive.

In order to maintain uniformity in the application, operation, and interpretation of the election laws of the State of Idaho,

and to facilitate the application of 63-215, Idaho Code, which pertain to annexation, the Secretary of State does hereby issue

Pursuant to 63-215, Idaho Code, the following procedures and timelines must be followed after an annexation before an

individual may vote and run for office in the annexed territory as outlined in the attached “Annexation Procedures.”

Secretary of State

Directive: 2023-03

2. If a taxing district is to be changed or formed, a copy of the legal description and map must be recorded with

1. The state tax commission has final say over whether the district’s new boundaries are legally sufficient and

receipt of the deficiencies. Idaho Code § 63-215.

annexations approved after close of the candidate filing deadlines may not be inputted until close of the

election.