Press Release from Idaho Attorney General
This week we delivered another victory in protecting Idaho’s election security. The U.S. District Court upheld Idaho’s statutes that eliminated student IDs as an acceptable form of identification when it came to registering to vote and voting itself. As everyone knows, student IDs lack any kind of uniformity and security measures, as well as not requiring any proof of residency. Our election process deserves more scrutiny and oversight.
The suit in federal court was brought against the Idaho statutes, specifically House Bill 340, by March For Our Lives. It was almost identical to the BABE Vote suit we previously defeated all the way to the Idaho Supreme Court, and on the same merits. Idaho’s statutes allow for driver’s licenses, state-issued ID, tribal identification, and federal ID (like a passport or military ID) to be considered acceptable when registering to vote. March For Our Lives and BABE Vote claimed that Idaho’s laws were unconstitutionally discriminatory against students, despite the legislature creating a secure, no-cost ID available to anybody who needed one.
Students, however, are not a defined, protected class of individuals. In the eyes of both state and federal courts, there is no discrimination occurring because of Idaho’s laws, especially when a free ID option is readily available. Engaging in the political process of our Republic is a right to be protected and cherished. Protecting that right demands security so that we as a people can have trust and confidence in the outcomes, knowing the people who participated in the election had the legal right to do so. I’m pleased that our courts have recognized the importance of secure elections when it comes to valid and uniform identification.
The U.S. District Court Judge wrote in her decision, “The Government has shown House Bill 340 promotes the State’s important interests of election security and prevention of voter fraud. Balancing these interests against House Bill 340’s requirement that registrants provide an approved form of identification to register – which may include no-fee identification – the Court concludes House Bill 340 does not pose an unconstitutional burden on registrants and grants the Secretary summary judgment…”
