Counties could see savings on election costs if proposed bills in Legislature are approved

Idaho’s 44 counties, along with taxpayers, could save money on election expenses if state lawmakers pass several bills introduced in the Idaho House and Senate this session.
 Senate Bill 1270, which is currently in the Senate State Affairs Committee, would do away with the requirement that city elections be held even if the offices are not contested.
 Currently, cities are the only local taxing authority that hold elections even if there are no contested offices. SB 1270 would eliminate the requirement to hold an election if only one person files a declaration of candidacy or if there is only a write-in declaration for each office.
 The Washington County clerk’s office was required to hire poll workers, print ballots and run an election in the city of Midvale last November, even though there were no contested offices. The incumbent elected officials, including the mayor and two members of the city council, were not challenged.
 Other taxing districts in the state, such as hospital, cemetery, fire, soil conservation and many others, are not required to hold an election if only one candidate has filed for any position. Once the deadline for declaration of intent to be a write-in has passed the district can forego an election.
 Cities in Idaho used to run their own elections until 2009, when the Legislature passed sweeping local election laws. The elections of various taxing districts, including cities, were consolidated and put under the purview of county clerks. The role of city clerk was limited to coordinating the candidate filing process.
 According to the Secretary of State’s office, the reasoning behind the consolidation was to provide uniformity in administration of elections. It was more convenient to hold elections for taxing districts in one central location rather than require voters to go to different locations to vote for different taxing districts.
 There are a dozen bills before lawmakers during the current legislative session that address some aspect of elections.
 House Bill 393 would consolidate local elections to the third Tuesday of May each year and the Tuesday following the first Monday in November each year.
 The proposed legislation would have a positive fiscal impact for county governments, which would no longer have to pay the cost of running school bond and levy elections on two other dates. Currently, those special elections can also be held in March and August.
 House Bill 347 has garnered much media attention during the current legislative session. The bill was approved in the House and is now in the senate.
 The proposed legislation requires that taxing districts wait a period of 11 months after a failed bond election before a subsequent bond question of the same type or subject can be placed on the ballot in that district.
 The bill would not impact the state’s general fund or any local government. The language merely clarifies how often a bond can be run after a failure and does not require resources to implement.
 Senate Bill 1268 deals with write-in candidates and could potentially result in a slight savings to counties. The legislation changes the deadlines for anyone filing as a write-in candidate in the primary, special and general elections.
 House Bill 336 could save counties time and paperwork by allowing citizens to automatically register to vote at the same time they apply for or renew a driver’s license or state-issued identification.
 The savings to counties would come with less staff time, paper processing and mailing, among other expenses related to voter registration. The DMV would be able to transmit voter information directly to county election offices.