IDAHO — About 73,000 absentee ballots have already been sent to Idaho voters as election officials prepare for the Nov. 3 general election.
Unlike states that automatically mail ballots to registered voters, Idaho requires voters to request an absentee ballot. Voters can submit a request through VoteIdaho.gov or their county clerk’s office.
“The election is underway. Voting has already happened,” Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane said. “We have 73,000 that have gone out so far, and many more to come.”
WATCH | How Idaho verifies absentee ballots and what voters need to know before returning theirs:
When a completed absentee ballot reaches a county elections office, workers verify the information on its outer envelope before removing the ballot.
Every voter must sign an affidavit on the return envelope. McGrane said election workers compare that signature with the signature on the voter’s driver’s license or voter registration record.
“We’ll actually do a comparison with the signature on either their driver’s license or their voter registration card to make sure it is the same person,” McGrane said.
One common problem occurs when spouses or other members of the same household accidentally sign each other’s ballot envelopes. McGrane said county officials can contact voters and allow them to correct signature-related issues.
Questions about mail voting have also become part of a broader national political and legal debate.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order in March directing federal agencies to create lists of eligible voters and requiring the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to voters appearing on state-approved lists.
Federal courts blocked key portions of the order. The U.S. Supreme Court later rejected the administration’s effort to put the mail-ballot restrictions into effect for the 2026 midterm elections.
McGrane said Idaho voters should not expect changes to the state’s absentee-voting process for this election.
“Based on a U.S. Supreme Court decision, everything is as normal,” McGrane said. “Nothing about this election has changed or is unique.”
The Supreme Court separately ruled in June that federal law does not prohibit states from counting ballots received after Election Day when state law allows it. Idaho, however, requires completed absentee ballots to be received by the voter’s county clerk no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day. An Election Day postmark is not enough.
The deadline to request an absentee ballot for Idaho’s general election is 5 p.m. Oct. 23. In-person early voting ends at 5 p.m. Oct. 30 in participating counties, and Election Day is Nov. 3.
