Secretary of State seeks ongoing funds for voter guide, software subscriptions and continuity staffing

Christopher Lahoset, budget analyst for the Legislative Services Office, outlined the Secretary of State’s FY26 enhancement requests to the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee, identifying eight items that include ongoing funding for a voter guide, software subscriptions and training, and one‑time funding for IT replacements.

Lahoset said the agency’s FY25 budget includes a one‑time $10,000,000 appropriation for elections software upgrades, of which about $2,500,000 has been spent and the remainder reappropriated into FY25. He described the voter guide request as $400,000 ongoing—$300,000 for mailing and $100,000 for printing—to deliver a voter guide to all Idaho households in the primary and general election cycles, and noted the office plans to reintroduce legislation to authorize the guide if needed.

Other requests include a one‑time “double fill” to train a deputy business director who will replace the current deputy director at retirement (the request does not add FTP), $287,100 ongoing for software subscriptions (which Lahoset said includes campaign finance and lobbyist reporting software), $20,000 ongoing for IT training, periodic funding for the Idaho Blue Book and Constitution printing and postage, postage inflation adjustments, and one‑time IT replacement funding for monitors, docking stations and laptops.

Secretary of State Phil McGrane appeared with senior staff and said delivering a voter guide is a top policy initiative; he told the committee the office has fielded polls showing strong public demand and that the Vote Idaho website and recent campaign finance and lobbyist reporting systems are products of the office’s recent IT investment. "We heard from voters... they overwhelmingly would like to see a voter guide," McGrane said, and he described the guide as a means of delivering ballot and candidate information to households before both primary and general elections.

McGrane and Lahoset also answered questions about a one‑time $26,000 requested to cover a federal upgrade fee for DMV access used to validate voter registration data; McGrane clarified the $26,000 is a one‑time fee the federal system charged to upgrade access while the office pays an ongoing subscription of roughly $1,100 quarterly. Committee members asked about the office’s revenue model: McGrane said business filing fees generate substantial revenue and that the office returns more to the general fund annually than it draws.

Committee members asked for clarity about making the Secretary of State’s fee revenue a dedicated fund; McGrane said the office currently deposits fee revenue into the general fund and draws its appropriation from there. The Secretary’s office agreed to provide additional information about the $10,000,000 election systems appropriation, the remaining balance, and upcoming procurement steps tied to the RFP process for the election management system.