Amends existing law to require certain anti-fraud measures to be employed to ensure election ballots are secure.
Summary
House Bill 310 amends Idaho’s election code governing official ballot identification and ballot security. The bill requires county clerks to ensure that all ballots are clearly marked as official and to use anti-fraud measures designed to prevent duplication or copying of ballots. Depending on the voting system used in a county, those measures may include unique non-sequential identifiers such as barcodes or QR codes, watermarks, holograms, security paper, or stamping/printing the words “Official Election Ballot.” For hand-counted ballots, the bill requires the official ballot marking and election date to be applied when the ballot is issued.
The bill also requires clerks to test and verify the selected security measures before each election, notify the county board of canvassers which measures are being used, and maintain documentation of the security measures and chain of custody for ballots. The legislation includes an emergency clause and is set to take effect on July 1, 2025.
Impact
The bill would amend Section 34-901 of the Idaho Code and expand the statutory requirements for official ballot identification and ballot anti-fraud procedures. It affects county clerks, county boards of canvassers, and election administration practices in counties using optical scan ballots, voting machines, paper ballots, or hand-counted ballots. The measure adds specific security options and documentation duties, while preserving ballot secrecy requirements under the Idaho Constitution.
Sentiment
The available voting history shows strong bipartisan support, with the bill passing the Idaho House 67-0 and the Senate 35-0. That unanimous support suggests broad agreement on the need to strengthen ballot security and standardize anti-fraud measures. No committee transcript is available here, but the vote totals indicate the bill was not politically divisive at the floor stage.
Contention
No recorded opposition appears in the available voting history, and there are no committee transcripts to show detailed debate. The main policy issue implicit in the bill is how to balance ballot security measures with voter privacy and election administration flexibility. Any potential contention would likely center on the cost and practicality of implementing different security features across counties, as well as ensuring that unique identifiers and other markings do not compromise ballot secrecy.