TWIN FALLS, Idaho — A bill moving through the Idaho Legislature could change how city council members are elected in Twin Falls and other Idaho cities, shifting from at-large elections to district-based voting.
House Bill 720 would require Idaho cities with a population of more than 25,000 to elect city council seats by district. Under that system, candidates must live in the district they are running to represent, and voters weigh in on one seat.
WATCH | How could it work? We explore what a switch to district elections for council would look like—
Currently, only Idaho's largest cities — those with populations over 100,000 — are required by state law to elect council seats by district. All other cities can choose to do so, but the majority hold at-large elections.
Idaho cities affected include Caldwell, Eagle, Kuna, Twin Falls, Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Post Falls, Lewiston, Rexburg, Coeur d'Alene, and Moscow.
Bill sponsor Rep. Joe Alfieri said the legislation is designed to increase civic engagement and give residents a more direct line to their local government.
"The intent of this legislation is to allow for more direct representation for citizens by cities," Alfieri told the House State Affairs committee during a hearing on Monday, March, 2.
"And if you've got a problem, you want to talk to the city about your council members were at large. You don't know who to talk to. You don't actually have local representation," Alfieri said.
Gerardo "Tato" Munoz has run for city council in Twin Falls twice, most recently this past November, 2025. He said he sees the benefits of dividing votes by district.
"The biggest thing of having a selection of city council by district is the representation of the different areas of the city," Munoz said.
"Council people maybe live in the same area of town or anything else, and then making decisions that might affect citizens across the whole," Munoz said.
However, Munoz also raised a concern about finding enough candidates willing to run in each district.
"The only caveat, the only problem with that is actually having representation from some of the areas. It's actually going to be really hard to find people that are willing to come up to the home plate and start batting," Munoz said.
The House State Affairs Committee has advanced the bill to the House floor for a vote.
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