TITLE 34

ELECTIONS

CHAPTER 9

BALLOTS

34-904A.  ELIGIBILITY TO VOTE IN PRIMARY ELECTIONS. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, an elector who has designated a party affiliation shall be allowed to vote only in the primary election of the political party for which such an elector is so registered.

(2)  A political party qualified to participate in elections pursuant to section 34-501, Idaho Code, may, no later than the last Tuesday in the November prior to a primary election, notify the secretary of state in writing that the political party elects to allow, in addition to those electors who have registered with that political party, any of the following to vote in such party’s primary election:

(a)  Electors designated as unaffiliated;

(b)  Electors registered with a different political party qualified to participate in elections pursuant to section 34-501, Idaho Code. In the event a state chairman of a political party elects to allow electors to vote in that party’s primary election pursuant to this paragraph, the state chairman shall identify which political parties’ registrants are allowed to vote in such primary election.

(3)  In the event that more than one (1) political party allows unaffiliated electors to vote in their party’s primary election, an unaffiliated elector shall designate which political party’s primary election the elector chooses to vote in by declaring such designation to the poll worker or other appropriate election personnel, who shall then record in the poll book the elector’s choice. The county clerk shall record such choice as part of the elector’s voting history within the voter registration system as provided for in section 34-437A, Idaho Code.

(4)  In the event no more than one (1) political party allows unaffiliated electors to vote in their party’s primary election, an "unaffiliated" elector may designate that political party’s primary election as the election the elector chooses to vote in by declaring such designation to the poll worker or other appropriate election personnel, who shall then record in the poll book the elector’s choice. The county clerk shall record such choice as part of the elector’s voting history within the voter registration system as provided for in section 34-437A, Idaho Code.

(5)  An unaffiliated elector having declared such designation as provided for in subsection (3) or (4) of this section shall not be permitted to vote in the primary election of any other party held on that primary election date.

(6)  If an unaffiliated elector does not declare a choice of political party’s primary election ballot, the elector shall not be permitted to vote in any political party’s primary election but shall receive a nonpartisan ballot when such a ballot is available.

(7)  In the event that one (1) or more political parties allow electors affiliated with a different political party to vote in their primary election pursuant to this section, an elector affiliated with a different political party shall declare to the poll worker or other appropriate election personnel in which primary election ballot such elector wishes to vote. The county clerk shall record such choice as part of the elector’s voting history within the voter registration system as provided for in section 34-437A, Idaho Code.

(8)  Provided that all other provisions of this act are complied with, nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit an elector designated as unaffiliated from voting in the primary election of a different party held in subsequent years. Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, if a political party allows unaffiliated electors to vote in that political party’s primary election pursuant to this section, a vote by an unaffiliated elector in such primary election shall not change or affect the elector’s unaffiliated designation.

History:

[34-904A, added 2011, ch. 319, sec. 8, p. 933; am. 2015, ch. 292, sec. 8, p. 1170; am. 2023, ch. 208, sec. 14, p. 577.]