Idaho
Idaho legislators approve ballot info for noncitizen voting constitutional amendment • Idaho Capital Sun
A proposed amendment to the Idaho Constitution that would prohibit non-U.S. citizens from voting in Idaho elections will go before voters on the November general election ballot.
That comes after the Idaho Legislature in March widely approved House Joint Resolution 5, with only 12 votes against it and 91 votes in support across the Idaho House and Senate.
“No person who is not a citizen of the United States shall be a qualified elector in any election held within the state of Idaho,” the resolution says.
The Idaho Constitution already lists U.S. citizenship as a qualification to be a qualified elector.
On Monday, Idaho’s Legislative Council — a committee of legislative leaders — approved ballot language for the constitutional amendment. The council will submit the language to the Secretary of State’s Office, a spokeswoman for the office said, and the office will publish the language in several newspapers and its voter pamphlet that is sent to all Idaho voters before the November election.
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The vote by the council largely accepted ballot language drafted by the Legislature’s research arm, the Legislative Services Office. That includes statements in support of and against the amendment.
Idaho House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel — who unsuccessfully attempted several times to tweak the ballot language — decried the process used to approve the ballot language.
“It is really abusing the majority power here to totally silence those who oppose this from having a say in articulating the opposition statement,” Rubel, D-Boise, said at the meeting.
Idaho Senate President Pro-Tempore Chuck Winder, R-Boise, said legislative staff wrote the original ballot language, not the committee.
“We tried to wordsmith. And our own preferences were starting to put into it,” said House Majority Leader Jason Monks, R-Meridian. “I think we came up with a worse product than what they were able to put in a more objective process. And I think that’s why we ended up sticking with the original one.”
Monks’ motion — approved by the Legislative Council — was to accept the original version, and add language to the first statement in support to state that noncitizens can’t vote in government elections in Idaho.
Rubel said earlier in the meeting that she was concerned the amendment could be misconstrued to impact non-government, private elections, such as for parent teacher associations or nonprofit boards.
Only five public comments were submitted on the amendment, with three in favor and two against, according to Idaho Reports.
What information about the proposed constitutional amendment will be on November ballot?
The statements in support say the amendment is needed:
- “to clarify that United States citizenship is a requirement for eligibility to vote in Idaho elections because the current language does not expressly prohibit noncitizens from voting.” The statement in support says the amendment will ensure people who aren’t U.S. citizens “do not vote in any government election in the State of Idaho.”
- “to clarify that the right to vote shall not be granted in the future to individuals who are not citizens of the United States.” In some local elections in the U.S., the second statement said noncitizens have been granted voting rights, and that other states and cities have considered legislation to expand voting to noncitizens.
- Letting noncitizens vote in Idaho elections could, according to the third statement, “lead to concerns regarding election integrity and allow for foreign influence in Idaho elections.”
The statements against the amendment say:
- The amendment isn’t needed because U.S. citizenship is already required to participate in Idaho elections. Federal law also says it’s a crime for noncitizens to vote in federal elections, the statement said. “Under current law, the Idaho Secretary of State requires citizenship and proof of residency with respect to individuals who register to vote, and it is a felony for an individual to provide false information on an Idaho voter registration form.”
- In Idaho, there isn’t a significant election fraud issue involving attempts to vote or voting by noncitizens, the second statement said. But adding new language to the Idaho Constitution “in an effort to solve a problem that is not occurring could inadvertently create new problems or add an additional barrier to registering to vote by new citizens and state residents,” the statement said,
- The amendment “undermines local control of local elections,” the statement said. “The amendment would foreclose any opportunity in the future for the Idaho Legislature or local governments in Idaho to authorize noncitizens to vote in certain elections that might directly affect their interests.”
2024 HJR 5 arguments for and against – final – 6.17.24 (2)
Idaho
Idaho resolution opposing same-sex marriage advances
For the second year in a row, House lawmakers will consider urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.
The nonbinding resolution, which carries no legal weight, says the decision in Obergefel v. Hodges violates the longstanding religious definition of marriage between one man and one woman.
“The current definition of marriage that allows for same-sex marriages is a defilement of the word marriage,” said Rep. Tony Wisniewski (R-Post Falls), who sponsors the measure.
The resolution further states that the Obergefel decision “arbitrarily and unjustly” rejects the historical definition of marriage.
Idaho voters passed a constitution amendment in 2006 that defines marriage as between one man and one woman, which was invalidated by the Obergefel ruling.
Wisniewski said regulating marriages should be a power left to the states.
Rep. Brent Crane (R-Nampa) agrees.
“If you want to get things … closer to the people with respect to some of these more complex social issues, I think the best place for those things to happen is in the states,” Crane said.
Doing so is a risk, he said.
“You may have states that choose to acknowledge [polyamorous relationships]. You may have states that choose to have relationships between adults and younger children,” Crane said.
Cities in neighboring Oregon and Washington, for example, are considering giving those in polyamorous relationships legal recognition.
But he said that risk is worth it to allow other states that choose to only recognize traditional marriages.
Four lawmakers on the House State Affairs Committee opposed the resolution.
Rep. Erin Bingham (R-Idaho Falls) said she’s tried to balance her own religious beliefs with those of others while considering the measure.
“I do feel like that it is important for us to work together, to find ways to compromise and to live together in peace and mutual respect,” Bingham said.
The resolution now goes to the House floor for consideration.
House lawmakers last year passed a similar measure, but it never received a hearing in a Senate committee.
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Idaho
University of Idaho professor awarded $10M after TikTok tarot influencer claimed she ‘ordered’ quadruple murders
A University of Idaho professor won a $10 million judgment after a tarot TikTok influencer publicly pushed false claims that she was behind the savage quadruple slayings of four college students.
A Boise jury in US District Court ordered fortune-telling Texas TikToker Ashley Guillard on Friday to pay $10 million after concluding she falsely accused professor Rebecca Scofield of having a secret romance with one of the four victims and orchestrating their killings, the Idaho Statesman reported.
Following the verdict, Scofield thanked the jury and said she hopes the case sends a clear warning that making “false statements online have consequences in the real world.”
“The murders of the four students on November 13, 2022, were the darkest chapter in our university’s history,” Scofield told Fox News.
“Today’s decision shows that respect and care should always be granted to victims during these tragedies. I am hopeful that this difficult chapter in my life is over, and I can return to a more normal life with my family and the wonderful Moscow community.”
Scofield, the university’s history department chair, filed the lawsuit in December 2022 — just weeks after Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were brutally stabbed to death at an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022.
Guillard began uploading videos to her more than 100,000 TikTok followers in late November 2022, accusing Scofield of a secret relationship with one of the students and claiming she had “ordered” the killings, garnering millions of views across the social media platform.
The complaint states that Scofield had never met the victims and was out of state when the murders occurred.
Even after being served with cease-and-desist letters and after police publicly confirmed Scofield had no connection to the murders, the Houston-based tarot reader continued posting videos, the history professor’s legal team argued.
Guillard doubled down on her accusations against Scofield after being sued, posting a defiant video saying, “I am not stopping,” and challenging why Scofield needed three lawyers to sue her “if she’s so innocent.”
The professor’s legal team argued the defamatory accusations painted her as a criminal and accused her of professional misconduct that could derail her career.
Bryan Kohberger, then studying criminology at Washington State University, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to the quadruple murders in a deal that took the death penalty off the table. He is currently serving four consecutive life sentences in Idaho.
In June 2024, Chief US Magistrate Judge Raymond Patricco found Guillard’s statements legally defamatory, leaving damages to be decided by a jury.
During the damages trial, Scofield described the anguish of seeing her name tied to the murders online, the Idaho Statesman reported.
However, Guillard, acting as her own attorney, insisted her comments were simply beliefs based on tarot card readings.
She claimed to have psychic powers and testified that she relied on tarot cards to try to solve the shocking homicides that shook the rural college town and sparked global attention.
It took jurors less than two hours to return their verdict, the outlet reported.
The jury awarded Scofield $7.5 million in punitive damages in addition to $2.5 million in compensatory damages.
With Post wires
Idaho
Gas prices expected to exceed $3 as the Iran conflict prompts supply shortages
BOISE, Idaho — AAA is warning Idaho gas consumers that pump prices will likely rise as the conflict in Iran disrupts oil and gas supply chains worldwide.
The ongoing turmoil in the Middle East will likely push the price for a gallon of regular gasoline past the $3 mark over the coming days.
“On one hand, the crude oil market had time to account for some financial risk in the Middle East as forces mobilized, but a supply shortage somewhere affects the global picture,” says AAA Idaho public affairs director Matthew Conde. “If tankers can’t move products through the region, there could be ripple effects.”
On Monday, March 2, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $2.97, reports AAA, which is 12 cents more expensive than it was a month ago but 20 cents less than this time last year.
State / Price: 1 gallon of regular gasoline
- Washington / $4.37
- Oregon / $3.92
- Nevada / $3.70
- Idaho / $2.97
- Colorado / $2.89
- Montana / $2.82
- Utah / $2.74
- Wyoming / $2.73
In terms of the most expensive fuel in the nation, Idaho currently ranks #14. However, buying a gallon of regular gas in neighboring states such as Oregon and Washington could cost a whole dollar more. In contrast, gas prices in Utah, Montana, and Wyoming are anywhere between 15 to 24 cents cheaper than fuel in the Gem State.
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