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Committee sends bill to floor to tighten voter-roll accuracy and add federal verification
Summary
Representative Brandon Mitchell presented House Bill 339 to codify voter-roll maintenance practices, add SAVE (federal verification) to the Secretary of State’s toolkit and require coordination among state agencies to ensure registrations are accurate.
Representative Brandon Mitchell, R-District 6, presented House Bill 339, a bill intended to codify obligations and processes for maintaining accurate voter registration records. Mitchell said the bill brings together existing statutory authorities and specifically lists state agencies that may share data with the Secretary of State: the Department of Health and Welfare, the Department of Corrections and the Department of Transportation.
Mitchell said the bill also adds a statutory reference to the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program so the Secretary of State can use that federal verification to confirm eligibility. He said the changes are intended to ensure only eligible citizens appear on Idaho’s voter rolls.
Phil McGrane, Idaho Secretary of State, testified that the office already conducts extensive voter-roll maintenance and that last year the office vetted more than a million registered voters in response to an executive order. He told the committee the Secretary of State’s office works with Idaho State Police, the Department of Transportation and Homeland Security and that the office uses high-level cybersecurity protections and collaborates with CISA for election data security.
Representative Mickelson asked how the bill would protect personal data from unauthorized disclosure; McGrane replied that the data are already held by state agencies and would remain protected under chapter 74 of Idaho Code and that the Secretary of State’s office maintains cybersecurity protections and limited authorized access.
Representative Crane (District 12) said the bill largely codifies existing practices, adds annual reporting requirements and includes checks with other states to help prevent duplicate registrations.
The committee moved to send House Bill 339 to the House floor with a do-pass recommendation; the motion carried on a voice vote.
Votes at a glance: motion to send House Bill 339 to the floor with a do-pass recommendation — carried on voice vote.
