Idaho
State election officials meet in Idaho Falls to certify May primary election results – East Idaho News
(Idaho Capital Sun) — Idaho election officials have certified the results of Idaho’s May 21 primary election, featuring state legislative and congressional partisan races.
The Idaho State Board of Canvassers — composed of Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane, Idaho State Treasurer Julie Ellsworth and Idaho State Controller Brandon Woolf — certified the results of the May 2024 primary election on Wednesday in Idaho Falls at the Mountain America Center.
RELATED | Primary Election 2024 results
Around two dozen people turned out in-person for the meeting. McGrane said it was the highest turnout he’d seen for State Board of Canvassers meetings.
“What’s special about today … is this is the first time not doing it in a conference room in the Capitol building,” McGrane told the Idaho Capital Sun in an interview in Idaho Falls. “We did it in front of a live audience, specifically largely made up of the county clerks who ran the election. For almost I believe all of the county clerks in attendance today, this is the first time they’ve ever seen or participated in the state canvas.”
McGrane said he expects a recount in the Republican primary for Idaho House Seat B for Idaho’s legislative district 30 in eastern Idaho.
Unofficial election results indicated Republican challenger Ben Fuhriman, of Shelley, defeated incumbent Rep. Julianne Young, of Blackfoot, by two votes. The Idaho Secretary of State’s Office announced last month Fuhriman’s lead fell from 10 votes, after election officials discovered a disparity of eight votes, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported.
The race results are within the margin for a state-paid recount. McGrane said he expects a recount request Wednesday.
He told the Sun he expects the recount to be conducted this month. McGrane said he isn’t anticipating a recount in other state races.
About 27.9% of Idaho registered voters turned out to vote in the May primary election, according to new estimates from the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office that feature party estimates. Earlier estimates showed a nearly 24% voter turnout rate, the Sun previously reported.
Idaho’s post-election audit reinforces voting system reliability, official says
As part of Idaho’s primary election results canvas, Idaho counties submitted vote totals by precinct for legislative races, congressional races and judicial races, Idaho Secretary of State’s Office Data Visualization Specialist Gabe Osterhout said at the meeting. The canvas involved manually checking the totals, he said.
The Idaho Secretary of State’s office presented the audit results of eight county elections, following the May 21 primary election. Many of the counties had a perfect match in results following the audit, McGrane told the Sun.
“We did see one or two variants, but only one of note and it wasn’t significant to impact any race,” McGrane told the Sun.
Idaho Secretary of State’s Office Voting System Specialist Dan Lee said at the meeting the findings of the audits “reinforce the reliability of our voting systems and the processes while highlighting areas for improvement.”
In an audit of Canyon County votes in the race for Idaho’s 1st Congressional District, Lee said state officials found one over-counted ballot and one under-counted ballot among 4,870 ballots.
In Valley County, officials found four additional ballots for a total of 2,865 ballots during its hand-counted audit process, Lee said.
McGrane told the Sun the Secretary of State’s Office plans to revisit Valley County for ballot storage, organization and record-keeping improvements ahead of the general election on Nov. 5.
“The Secretary of State’s office and the county clerks remain committed to conducting open, honest and fair elections,” Lee said. “By continuing these post-election audits, the Office aims to bolster public confidence and ensure that every Idahoan’s vote is accurately counted and properly recorded.”
=htmlentities(get_the_title())?>%0D%0A%0D%0A=get_permalink()?>%0D%0A%0D%0A=htmlentities(‘For more stories like this one, be sure to visit https://www.eastidahonews.com/ for all of the latest news, community events and more.’)?>&subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20EastIdahoNews” class=”fa-stack jDialog”>
PAYETTE — A Payette mom’s bond was revoked Tuesday after she was charged with suffocating her twin children earlier this month and is believed to pose a danger to the life of her newborn child.
The case, which has drawn national headlines, concerns Andrea Renee Shaw, a 23-year-old Payette mother who in May 2025 said her 18-month-old fraternal twins died the same day, after receiving routine childhood vaccinations. In January, Shaw joined as a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit filed by Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine organization founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with several other plaintiffs claiming vaccine injury or death.
Kennedy, who now serves as secretary of Health and Human Services, is no longer part of the group after taking on the cabinet position, as was reported by the Associated Press.
In Idaho, the twins’ deaths prompted a 14-month investigation by the Payette County Sheriff’s Department. On June 29, the investigation yielded a grand jury indictment of Shaw on two counts of first-degree murder by suffocation. If convicted, Shaw can be punished by up to life in prison or the death penalty, and the court would have the ability to order the penalties be served consecutively, or back to back.
Tuesday’s arraignment at the Payette County Courthouse was primarily attended by Shaw’s relatives and members of the media. Payette County Judge Kiley Stuchlik, who serves Idaho’s Third Judicial District, presided.
A key consideration for Stuchlik on Tuesday was a request from Joseph Filicetti, the legal counsel for Shaw, to have her bond reduced from $2 million to $100,000. Filicetti said this would allow for Shaw to care for a newborn girl, who, according to court documents, was born by caesarean section on June 25, four days prior to Shaw’s grand jury indictment.
State prosecutors objected to the motion for bond reduction, noting at hand was a potential death penalty case and asserting, unlike her husband, Shaw’s story repeatedly changed during questioning. Prosecuting Attorney Mike Duke said releasing Shaw would ultimately put the newborn’s safety at risk.
“That child is the most at risk. We do not think she should be allowed to be anywhere near any children, let alone her own children,” Duke said.
Stuchlik decided to revoke bond entirely, stating Shaw posed a “risk of safety” to the newborn child that was not known to Stuchlik or prosecutors when the $2 million bond was initially set.
Also for consideration Tuesday was a request to have grand jury transcripts of witness testimony provided to prosecutors and defense counsel to prepare their respective cases.
Idaho
Idaho is home to the nation's first DarkSky Reserve. Now it's home to the nations first DarkSky Certified Resort
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – A controversy is brewing as the City of Idaho Falls reviews its alcohol ordinance.
The goal is to consolidate four existing ordinances for beer, wine and liquor into a single law and ensure compliance with state code.
However, at its meeting last Thursday, the Idaho Falls City Council unanimously voted to remove the proposed ordinance from its agenda, in order to receive and consider additional public comment.
The proposed ordinance would:
1. Require commercial establishments selling, dispensing or permitting consumption of alcohol – including beer, wine or liquor – to have an alcohol license, alcohol catering permit or a charitable event permit.
2. Business events with 20 or less employees consuming alcohol at the business would be allowed.
3. Require alcohol servers to complete training every three years.
4. Individuals who violate the law could be charged with a misdemeanor.
Idaho Falls City Council President Jim Francis said the changes were the culmination of months of collaboration between law enforcement, business owners and city attorneys.
“We wanted to provide a safe environment – the primary point here – for public gatherings,” Francis said. “We recognize that certain antiquated elements of the current code are overly restrictive and needed to be addressed. We wanted to make the code more accessible to the public. We needed to address over-pouring issues. We wanted to reduce penalties where possible for violations, particularly the first offenses, and yet make the code clear enough to be enforceable consistently by law enforcement.”
But City Council Member John Radford said the changes represent an overreach by city government.
“I believe it’s a bad policy. What problem are we solving in the name of trying to solve a non-problem?” Radford said. “We’re becoming big brother around alcohol in your private property. I’m concerned that landlords will be at risk of being charged with a misdemeanor if they knowingly, which I made sure that was in there, because that is what we’ve been talking about, allowed people to drink in our business. We will be outside the norm of Idaho cities. This is a big step, and I don’t think the public has weighed in on this.”
At a City Council Work Session on June 1, Idaho Falls Chief of Police Bryce Johnson cited an increase in alcohol-related crime – particularly downtown – as a reason for the changes.
“DUI is there, but this would include sexual assaults, assaults, batteries, disturbances, urination, public vandalism, shooting – all sorts of crimes,” Johnson said.
But business owners are concerned about the potential impact on commercial enterprises.
“The ordinance doesn’t address the real problem – which is people drinking … at one event and then showing up in a bar or restaurant already hammered and causing problems anyway,” ” said Terri Ireland, representing the Idaho Falls Downtown Merchants Association. “The industry is really well-regulated by state and local laws already.”
The City of Idaho Falls began the process of updating its alcohol ordinance in January 2026, seeking input from community stakeholders.
Multiple community members spoke out about the ordinance.
For more in-depth information, you can read the full 39-page proposed alcohol ordinance here.
-
Alaska5 minutes agoIllegal harvest of Yukon sheep leads to $100,000 in fines against Alaskan hunters
-
Arizona11 minutes agoAM Roundup: Murder victim’s mother speaks, deadly Scottsdale crash, AZ CD 1 race
-
Arkansas17 minutes agoThis Private School Had Students Scrub Floors and Attack a Fellow Classmate. The State Still Funds It.
-
California23 minutes agoCalifornia man who killed estranged wife’s lover while they slept sentenced
-
Colorado29 minutes ago10 Colorado sporting events that speak to Colorado’s outdoors culture
-
Connecticut35 minutes agoEarly morning forecast for July 15
-
Delaware41 minutes agoHow a Delaware Chinese restaurant became a musical sensation
-
Florida47 minutes agoFlorida Cracker Trail predates America, honors history by annual ride
