With the 2026 general election scheduled for Nov. 3, Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane and his staff addressed common voter questions regarding ballot procedures, write-in candidate requirements, and online registration tools.
Ballot Filling and Write-In Candidates
Voters in Idaho are not required to cast a vote in every race or on every question for their ballot to be counted. Joe Parris, an election official, confirmed that skipping specific contests does not invalidate the remainder of the ballot.
For those considering write-in candidates, strict filing requirements apply. Prospective write-in candidates must submit a “Declaration of Intent” to the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office. The deadline for this filing was Sept. 4.
Votes cast for individuals who did not file the required declaration do not count toward the final tally. This year, independent gubernatorial candidate Jacob Burnett is the only write-in candidate who successfully filed a declaration.
Ballot Measures and Advisory Questions
The upcoming ballot includes several measures with specific voting instructions. House Joint Resolution 4, House Joint Resolution 6, and Proposition 1 offer voters only “yes” or “no” options.
An advisory question regarding an official state gun presents six distinct choices. Election officials noted that there is no write-in option available for this particular advisory measure.
Absentee Signature Verification
All absentee ballots undergo signature verification by election staff. Officials compare the signature on the ballot envelope against multiple sources to ensure voter identity. These sources include current voter registration records, signature history from previous ballots, and driver’s license records.
Voters who have moved, changed their names, or have not voted in four years are required to update their registration information. Failure to do so may result in verification issues.
Online Registration Search Tools
Some voters using the VoteIdaho.Gov search tool have expressed concern that they were removed from voter rolls. Secretary of State Phil McGrane clarified that no one is being purged from the rolls due to changes in the search tool’s requirements.
The online tool has stricter matching criteria, which can cause search failures if users do not enter their name exactly as it appears on their registration. Using nicknames or adding extra characters may prevent the system from finding a record. Additionally, adding periods to directional abbreviations when looking up polling locations can trigger errors in the lookup tool.
Petition Signature Verification
Initiative petition signatures are public records confirmed by the Secretary of State’s Office. Conservative North Idaho blogger Summer Bushnell recently posted lists of petition signers for Proposition 1, organized by county.
Election officials emphasized that these published lists contain unverified signatures. Some entries may be invalid due to duplicates or because the signer was not a registered voter at the time. Each signature is counted only once, even if a voter signed multiple petitions or multiple times on the same petition.
To qualify for the ballot, Idaho initiatives require signatures from at least 6% of registered voters statewide. Additionally, initiatives must gather signatures from 6% of registered voters in at least 18 of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts.