Idaho Decision 2024: Preparing for election season

Idaho Matters

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2024 marks a historic election year. In November, voters will decide the future of our country for the next four years, as well as many key state and local races.

Because it’s a presidential election year, there’s been a lot of focus on not just who gets elected but also on how our election system works at both a national and local level.

To answer the questions that have come up this election season, we asked Idaho's Secretary of State, Phil McGrane, to join Idaho Matters each Tuesday to take a closer look at these issues.

Read the full transcript below:

GAUDETTE: From the studios of Boise State Public Radio News. I'm Gemma Gaudette. This is Idaho Matters. 2024 marks an historic election year. Come November, voters will decide the future of our country for the next four years, as well as many key state and local races. Now, because it is a presidential election year, there's been a lot of focus on not just who gets elected, but also on how our election system works at both a national and local level. So to answer the questions that have come up this election season, we asked Idaho Secretary of State Phil McCrane to join us each Tuesday leading up to Election Day to take a closer look at these issues. So he's joining us now. Phil, it's always nice to have you on the show.

McGRANE: Gemma it is always great to be with you. So thanks for doing this. I'm excited as we head into the November election coming up.

GAUDETTE: So before we get started with this week's questions, can you just give folks an overview of what the Secretary of State's job is.

McGRANE: Yeah, especially as it relates to this. So I serve as the chief election official for our state. The county clerks are the chief election officials for each of the counties, and we are all working very closely together right now preparing for the November 5th election. Um, our role is to oversee the voter registration system, all of the tools that the county clerks use, and to make sure that elections are run uniformly across the entire state. So whether you're in Bear Lake or Boundary County or here in Boise, the process should be relatively the same, and every Idahoan should be able to have confidence in the voting process. And so we've been working closely with all of them, gearing up for what is really set to be a record election.

GAUDETTE: So when you say you have to prepare for every election, can you kind of quickly walk us through what that looks like? I mean, what kinds of things actually go into putting an election on? Because, you know, on Election Day, I walk into my precinct, I get a ballot, I vote, and I'm out the door.

McGRANE: You know, and if it works the way it's supposed to, that's exactly how it should be. We want it to be a seamless process for all Idahoans who show up to the polls, whether they're voting absentee, voting early, or voting in person on Election Day. And really, in terms of the preparation, it started last spring. As you know, we had the primary election back in May. That's really what kind of tees everything up. Most candidates had to file way back in March in terms of this election. So all the legislative candidates, the county candidates, others that started a long time ago. And now that we're through the primary election, we know who the nominees are for all the various positions related to the party offices. Um, we've also had the Republican National Convention and the Democratic National Convention. We're now at the phase where we are really assembling the actual mechanical pieces. So last Friday was the deadline for anything to go on an Idaho ballot. And so the county clerks have been designing the ballots and sending off everything to the printer. So this week, really, we are printing ballots, gearing up to get ready for everything beyond that, one of the unique things our office does, and I'm sure we'll talk about more as we get closer, is the Idaho Voter pamphlet. Um, we're currently printing 850,000 copies of the voter pamphlet to go out to voters. Um, just to put it in perspective, that's 17 million pages, and it takes a little while for the printers to run that many pages. So a lot of things go into the preparations, really to make it possible and to make the voting experience seamless. I think, you know, at the county clerk level, they're really gearing up, getting all their supplies ready. And I think one of the big things right now is getting all the people ready that are going to be required to run the election. So those poll workers, all the election officials that were going to use across the state are one of the key components that we have to get ready now in September so that everything is in place for October and November.

GAUDETTE: So I want to talk about the poll workers in a moment. But before we get to that, you mentioned, you know, the the ballots are now off to the printers and the one one of the things you did last week was announced the official list of presidential candidates who have qualified for Idaho's general election ballot. And we should note, there are a lot of candidates on that list, not just Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. So first off, how does that process work of qualifying a candidate to be on the ballot?

McGRANE: Yeah, it's interesting, and it's a great question because we've had a lot of interest to know, you know, people are watching the news nationally and trying to understand what's going to happen. And I think, as you pointed out, Gemma there are more names you're going to see on the ballot than you realize. There's the big names that we all hear about, but there's plenty of others and headed into this. The president is unique. It's the only office that crosses state lines. Everything else is contained within each of the 50 states. So this process is a little different. I think all of us are more familiar with the big National Party. So the Democratic Party, the Republican Party. The same rules apply to the Constitution and Libertarian parties, where each of the states nominates at their national convention who they want. And then the national convention determines the nominees both the presidential candidate as well as the vice presidential candidate. and those are submitted by the parties. So each of the local parties, Dorothy Moon and Lauren Necochea. Notified us of their candidates that would appear on the ballot.

McGRANE: Beyond that, though, we have five independent candidates. These are names that people will also probably recognize. So Robert F Kennedy Jr is one. Jill Stein is another that will appear on the Idaho ballot. And all the independent candidates had to go through a little bit different process. They actually had to petition Idahoans, and they needed a thousand valid signatures from Idahoans in order to get their names to appear on the ballot. Each of the five independent candidates did exactly that, and they had to file those by the beginning of August. So we spent August verifying the clerks, verifying the signatures, our office making sure that their electors were set correctly so that they could appear on the ballot. And I'll note one other thing that just, you know, the election nerd in me can't help is when people see their ballots, they'll also see all of the electors listed. And technically, voters are voting on the four electors for Idaho, who will appear at the Electoral College to nominate the candidate who ultimately wins our state.

GAUDETTE: So, Phil, I want to go back to a candidate that you mentioned, Robert F Kennedy Jr, because he came out, pulled himself out of the race, endorses Donald Trump, and now he wants to take his name off the ballot in some states. As you mentioned, he's on the ballot here in Idaho. So if someone has made it on the ballot in our state, is there a process to take their name off?

McGRANE: There is a process where we're really past that point. The date to withdraw was last Friday and it is interesting, especially with the Kennedy. We've all seen in the news. Um, not only is he not withdrawing in Idaho, he's actually fought pretty hard to make sure he could be on the ballot here in Idaho. And so, you know, from my understanding, nationally, there are some battleground states where he's chosen to withdraw, but other states like Idaho, he's very much intending to remain on the ballot. We've had no indication from the Kennedy campaign that they want to be removed, but a candidate could have been removed. But we're now past that point because, as I mentioned, ballots are being printed and we're coming up quickly. Uh, Friday the 20th. So ten days from now will be when the very first ballots hit mailbox, like go out in the mail to head to those very first absentee voters. And that's really intended to get to all the people overseas or in the military and people who aren't here in Idaho.

GAUDETTE: Okay, let's talk about Election Day. Who are the people working in the polls? Um, you know, they're the ones that look up your name. They hand us the ballot, you know, make sure everything runs smoothly.

McGRANE: I think, you know, Gemma like, I have a fondness for all the people who are willing to serve as poll workers in our state. That's actually how I got my start years and years ago was training poll workers here in Ada County. Um, it's surprises people, but we really rely on the community in order to be able to pull off elections. Across the state we will use about 5,000 poll workers in order to pull off an election of this scale. So that's your your neighbors. It's often like retirees or there are people who stay at home. It's a long day on a Tuesday. And so it requires a commitment. But we love when we get to see whether it's high school students serving as poll workers or I think lots of voters, when they picture their local polling place that they picture, you know, the the group of little old ladies who've been doing it for decades, who have whether it was punch cards when we did it before to the systems we use now, they've been consistently running their polling locations. They're always a friendly face when you head in to vote. And I will say, you know, one of the big things right now for all the clerk's offices, they need poll workers. If there's people who are listening, who are willing to step up and to serve, and whether they can take a day off or commit that Tuesday. We need more poll workers to be able to serve this election. And so I'm hopeful that we'll see people sign up and anybody who's interested can visit VoteIdaho.gov. And under the resources tab, there has become an election worker. And that information will all be submitted to the. Doesn't matter what county you're in here in Idaho, we'll get that information to the county because I know they're looking for people.

GAUDETTE: Phil I only have a little bit under two minutes with you. I am assuming there's training that that poll workers would, would have to undergo beforehand.

McGRANE: Yep, there definitely are. I always you know, you and I talk all the time about our election laws and how the process works. And you can appreciate so can your listeners. I'm not the one who's actually on the ground doing it. It's our poll workers. All of the counties provide training to those poll workers. And there's different roles that people can serve in, whether that's issuing ballots, whether that's helping set up the equipment or run the poll books. We have some great systems we've implemented across the state with now our electronic poll books. I'm sure we'll talk about that more as we get closer. But all that training is provided, and it really is a great experience in terms of civic engagement. You know, I know that politics these days often gets a bad rap. People like the noise and we'll see the campaigns picking up as we go. But this is a great way, regardless of your partisan stripes or anything, just to serve everybody in your community and really help kind of democracy work. And so I'm excited for Election Day, and hopefully there's people here who are ready and willing to serve our state.

GAUDETTE: I have to say, I when I go to my polling place, I love seeing the poll workers there. They do just such a great job and they always have a smile on their face. So Phil, thank you so much for taking time today. We look forward to talking you ever talking with you every Tuesday leading up to Election Day, we've been speaking with Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane on how Idaho is getting ready for the November election. Remember, they need poll workers. So Phil mentioned where to go. We will, of course, put information on our website. He will be here every Tuesday to answer questions about how the election process works. Thanks so much for listening to Idaho Matters. Boise State Public Radio and Idaho Matters are members of the NPR network. It's an independent coalition of public media podcasters. You can find more shows in the network wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Gemma Gaudette. We'll see you tomorrow.