Many people use a driver's license to vote in Idaho, but if you don’t have one, what do you do?
Broadcast on:
08 Oct 2024
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What happens when you go to vote and you don’t have a driver’s license? Can you still vote? What kind of identification do you need, and how do you get one?
Voters will decide the future of our country for the next four years as well as many key state and local races in the upcoming November election. 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.
Idaho's Secretary of State Phil McGrane joined Idaho Matters to take a closer look at these issues and answer the questions that have come up this election season.
But from the studios of Boise State Public Radio News, I'm Gemma Gaudet. This is Idaho Matters. What happens when you go to vote and you don't have a driver's license? Can you still vote? What kind of identification do you need? And then how do you get one? 2024, 2024, rather, marks an historic election year. In November, voters will decide the future of our country for the next four years, though also decide many key state and local races. Now because it is a presidential election late year, there has been a lot of focus on not just who gets elected, but also on how our election system works at both the national and the local level. So to answer the questions that have come up this election season, we asked Idaho Secretary of State, Phil McGrain, to join us every Tuesday leading up to the election to take a closer look at these issues, and we are lucky enough to have him joining us today. Nice to have you back on the program. Thanks, Gemma. It's always good to be here. Okay. So let's talk about identification. So many people use a driver's license to vote in Idaho. However, some folks don't have a driver's license. So can you talk to us about this because we do have free IDs available, correct? We do. And I think, you know, it's just a good place to start is that Idaho does require photo ID to vote and photo ID to register to vote. One of the big things, you know, registration, the deadline is this Friday to pre-register before election day. Gemma, as you and I know, there's also a same-day registration and we can talk about that. But when someone registers, they need to show one of the official forms of ID. So that could be your Idaho driver's license, could be a passport or something else. But as you noted, one of the great things we did two years ago is we added a free ID for voting, and that's available to anybody for any reason. I'll say it's a college student who just doesn't drive and hasn't had a need to get an ID or even a senior who no longer drives and but still needs an ID for official things. That free ID is available through ITD. Is there a difference between the free ID for voting and what's also called the standard Idaho identification card? There really isn't. It's an official state issued ID card and the process is very similar in terms of obtaining one. The real difference is we made it free. We wanted to make sure there was no one who was left out of the process and so our office covers the costs of any ID cards that anyone needs. I think one of the things to note, this is really for those people who just are in life situations where they haven't had an ID or didn't need one and to get it. It's not for people who already have a driver's license or an ID card or something else. Recently, we've had some questions come into the office with registration deadline coming up and I think that's highlighted it and I'll give you a good example. We had someone from another state so they've moved to Idaho and they have a California driver's license. Well, if you have a California driver's license, it's probably time to get your Idaho driver's license. That's different than getting the free ID card. The free ID card could be for that same person if they no longer need to drive but it's really to help fill in the gaps for people who don't have an ID. So Phil, what do you need then to get the free ID? Because I'm assuming you can't just walk in somewhere and get one without any proof of residency. Yeah, I really want to praise the Idaho Transportation Department for working with us and working with any individuals. As I mentioned, these are usually people who are in different walks of life. So it is the same process as going down for all of us that can relate to getting our driver's license. You don't have to take the driver's test and it doesn't give you the privilege to drive but in terms of documentation, you do have to have photo identification, proof of residence to go through that process. But also I want to highlight, we've had some unique situations come up and the driver's license department has really been willing to work with voters to make sure they can get that ID card when they need. We've done it with a bunch of unique situations. So if you find yourself in a position like that, contact your local driver's license office or ITD and they are willing to help as well as our offices. Well, because you just mentioned you need photo ID to get this identification card and I'm kind of thinking, well, maybe if you need an identification card, you might not have an official photo of yourself that shows who you are. Yeah, I think it depends on the situation people are in. Now, you can appreciate our office doesn't issue the IDs, but I know we've worked with a number of people to go through the process. It is similar documentation under the Real ID Act, the same standards apply. That was part of the change that we made to our photo ID requirements is requiring state issued ID for the purposes of voting. That way, we know everything's been validated by those driver's license clerks in the process. And so far, I will say it's gotten smoother than I expected to in a lot of sense because of it. And I really think the free ID is what's helped. We haven't issued a huge volume, but we've issued hundreds of them across the state. And thankfully, to help those people vote, it was funny in your introduction, one of the things that positive you said, you know, if you don't have a driver's license when you head to the polls, our last general election, 98.8% of voters use their driver's license. So most people, your driver's license is probably all you need and it'll make it be a really smooth, easy process on election day. So where can you get the free ID? The free ID is at any local driver's license office. So it's issued by your local driver's license, folks. And again, you cannot vote in Idaho if you do not have some type of Idaho identification. I want to distinguish here. So you can't register. If you need to register to vote, you need to provide ID. On election day, every voter will be asked to show photo identification. So a driver's license, passport, military ID, tribal ID or concealed weapons permit. Those are our approved identifications. But if you don't have, when you show up and you forgot your driver's license at home, there is an affidavit that can be used by voters at the polls to vote. Okay. I want to talk about student identification, Phil, because this got a lot of headlines, a lot of controversy around this because there were two new laws that were passed, but then there was a lawsuit earlier this year and a judge determined that you cannot use student identification in Idaho. So with that said, is there a drawback with student identification? Yeah, it was two sessions ago that the law was changed and no longer allow student IDs. And really the basis for that is that student IDs aren't issued under the same standards that other IDs are a really good example. If you're to look at a University of Idaho, student ID, it says in big, bold print not to be used for official identification purposes. And the reason for that is student IDs at most institutions in the state are just printed on desktop ID printing tools and often issued by students themselves. So it just doesn't meet the same standards. Some states have elevated the standards, but schools haven't been able to meet them. And so one of the things we've seen is most students, just like the rest of us use their driver's license. Going back to the last general election, we had, I think it was just over 100 students use student IDs out of the 600,000 voters who participated in the election. And that is one of those examples of where it may be an ideal use is for that free idea. For some reason, there's a student who doesn't have a driver's license and doesn't need one. The free ID may be a great resource. It also works well beyond voting. As you mentioned, comparing it to the state issued ID card. This ID is used, can be used for TSA and travel. It can be used for opening a bank account or any other legal purposes you need identification. It is an official state issued ID. Okay. So I want to talk about pre-registration to vote because we're coming to the deadline where you can do this. Yeah, Friday. So if you haven't had a chance to update your registration, this week is a great opportunity to do it. And you can do it easily online at voteidaho.gov. So that's where you pre-register, go to voteidaho.gov. Yeah, go to voteidaho.gov. That's the easiest way you can do it online. You can also do it at your local elections office by completing a paper registration form and getting that turned in. And really the deadline, if anyone's wondering, it's to give the clerks the chance to get the poll books ready in all the materials for election day. We're really fortunate. For some reason you miss Friday's deadline, you can still do it on election day at the polls or in person at early voting. It'll just take you longer in terms of your voting experience. So the easiest thing is to hop online right now and get that registration done. Okay. Can we talk a little bit more in depth about pre-registration because I think it can be really confusing. In particular, as we know, we have a lot of folks who have moved into Idaho over the last, you know, five years, 10 years, and pre-registration is different in different states. For example, I lived in Florida for a couple of years, well, almost 20 years ago. And I got there during an election cycle and I had to pre-register to vote because they didn't allow you to register to vote on election day. And so if you weren't registered, you couldn't vote. So can you explain once again, especially for folks, as I said, who might be newer here, the difference between like why you would pre-register, but also the fact that we can still vote if you haven't pre-registered. Yeah, I think it's a really good point. We really are fortunate to live in Idaho and to have this. And we've had same day registration for a very long time. It is not common in many other states. So there's a good chance, people coming from another state, that the rules are different. And things like making sure that we do the identification checks in the process are a key part of it as well. We do have same day registration at the polls, but in terms of ease in the process, it's a lot easier and quicker to jump online, hop on your phone, visit vote Idaho.gov, enter your information. While you're entering it, we actually check in real time with the Idaho Transportation Department to validate your information. It just makes it a smoother process to get it done now. And a lot of the people, we have people who've moved to Idaho recently. You do have to live in Idaho for 30 days before you're eligible to register to vote. There's also a lot of people I want to highlight a group is people who've moved over the last four years. That's often where we see the most same day registrations is someone lived in an apartment saying downtown Boise, but then they moved over to Meridian or any other change. We see that throughout the state. We sent out some postcards to people we identified that their addresses has changed. And we've actually seen a big surge in registrations headed in as a result of that. And it really makes voting easier for everybody. It shortens the line because the longest process on election day is that registration process. So to the extent you can register in advance, it'll make your life easier. It'll make your neighbor's life easier as well. But I think I want to just reassure everybody, if for some reason you don't get to it, you just forget by Friday, you can still, and I'm sure we'll talk about it as we get close to election day, still register at the polls and vote at the same time. Okay, I have less than a minute left with you and I want to ask you this question. What if you're not 18 yet? Let's say you turn 18 on November 3rd, can you pre-register or do you have to do it at the polls? If you're going to turn 18 soon, you can fill out the paper form and turn it in your clerk's office. They'll hold it until your birth date, but you are eligible to vote in this election. We really would want to see those 18 year olds participate. Same thing. Same day registration is available. So if you don't get that turned in by Friday, you can same day register at early voting locations and there's numerous locations available or at your polling site on election day, bring your documentation, but we're really hopeful that all these new voters will take part in this process, especially with such an important presidential election coming up. Well, as always, we want to thank you so much for coming in and we should note it is National Voter Education Week this week as well. We've been talking with Idaho Secretary of State, Bill McGrain, on how Idaho is getting ready for the November election. Now remember, he's going to be with us 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 the network wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jamek Adet. We'll see you tomorrow. The candidates for November are set between now and election day, a campaign season unfolding faster. Harris is not getting a promotion than any in recent history. Follow it all with new episodes every weekday on the NPR Politics Podcast.
