What Local Elections Officials Want You to Know About Your Voter Information

On Wednesday, the deadline for the state of Idaho to turn over private voter registration information to the federal government has now been pushed back to Tuesday instead of this Friday.

However, some people in the Gem State are taking action to make sure that information never leaves Idaho to begin with.

The Idaho Democratic Party filed an injunction order this week against Secretary of State Lawrence Denny, seeking to block Idaho’s top elections chief from handing over voter information data to President Donald Trump’s commission investigating alleged voter fraud.

As part of the commission’s request, the information they would receive would include voters’ names, dates of birth, and the last four digits of everyone’s Social Security numbers.

Chairman of the state’s Democratic Party Bert Marley said he believes the commission’s request for this information is illegal under Idaho’s public records law.

Bannock County Elections Administrator Julie Hancock said she already saw two people this week unregister to vote.

“Voting is so important to so many people,” Hancock said. “We can’t have people walking into our office and unregistering to vote, because it’s such an important constitutional right we have. It’s a sad day when we see people walking in and unregistering.”

Hancock said what is considered public information under Idaho law include: your name, address, and political party affiliation. Phone numbers could be added to that list, but only if the voter allows it to appear publicly.

“The only way this could pass would be if it’s court-ordered, but if that happens, I believe Lawrence Denny and our state officials would fight it,” Hancock added.

Pocatello League of Women Voters board member and former state president Muriel Roberts said the group has been supporting voting rights while helping get voters registered, helping everyone become a part of the voting process.

However, not speaking on behalf of the league, Roberts personally feels this is an effort to push for voter suppression.

“What are they going to do with this (information)? They’re going to find ways to get an awful lot of people off the voter rolls,” Roberts said from her personal standpoint.

To read what the League of Women Voters’ standpoint is, you can find that here: http://lwv.org/

To read what Denny’s standpoint is on the issue, you can find that here: https://www.sos.idaho.gov/PressRelease/VOTING%20RECORDS%20press%20release.pdf