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Idahoans could receive state voter guides under new bill – Idaho Capital Sun

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Idahoans could receive state voter guides under new bill – Idaho Capital Sun


Idahoans could receive a state-issued voter guide for primary and general elections under a new bill headed to the Idaho Senate.

Senate Bill 1273, brought by Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane, would require the Idaho secretary of state to prepare and distribute voter guides before primary and general elections. The bill would expand upon and replace a voters pamphlet already mailed to Idahoans. 

Many Western states, where many new Idaho residents are often moving from, have state-issued voter guides, McGrane said. 

An Idaho guide, he said, would provide crucial information to voters in need. Voters headed to the polls often know their vote for president, McGrane said. But not necessarily for races further down the ballot, he said.

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“A common thing I hear from voters is they’ll request an absentee ballot not because they want to vote absentee, but they just want to get the ballot in advance so they can go do their research,” McGrane said.

Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane at the State Capitol building on January 8, 2024. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun)

The Idaho Senate State Affairs Committee voted unanimously Friday to advance the bill to the full Senate. To become law, the bill would also need to clear the full Idaho House and be reviewed by Gov. Brad Little. A similar bill McGrane sought last year passed the Idaho Senate, but did not advance in the House. 

Under the bill, Idaho’s new voter guide would have “uniform information about issues, measures, and candidates to be voted on.” Candidates could also submit a photo, a statement and campaign contact information. 

McGrane, answering questions, said the state does not intend to censor or change information. But he said the state would need to create policy for the guide, referencing requirements in other states for proof of endorsements or quotations.

Sen. Treg Bernt- R-Meridian, said the bill would provide consistent election information across the state. Bernt also said honest people shouldn’t worry.

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“Those who are against it are those who are biased, and those who provide misinformation to voters. If you’re honest, and if you provide honest information about candidates, then you have absolutely nothing to worry about,” Bernt said. 

Seventy-eight percent of Idahoans favor a state-issued voter guide, according to Boise State University’s Idaho Public Policy Survey released last month

The bill, if approved, wouldn’t create an Idaho voters guide for this year’s primary election, scheduled for May, McGrane said. He said the first guide would be issued starting next fall. 

A 2024 general election voter guide wouldn’t cost the state extra, the bill’s fiscal note estimates. The fiscal note says the guide’s distribution to 800,000 Idaho households would be funded through a $350,000 annual budget request. The Idaho Secretary of State’s Office requests funds every other year for its voter pamphlet, which the voter guide would replace and expand upon. The voter guide would only be produced every other year, agency spokesperson Chelsea Carattini told the Idaho Capital Sun.

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State-issued voter guide could have more info than other guides

Idaho has historically relied on third parties such as newspapers and the League of Women Voters for voter guides, McGrane said, but some private guides can struggle to get information from candidates. He also held up a copy of the “infamous” newspaper-like publication called The Idahoan, funded by partisan interest in 2018.

“It was portrayed as a state publication, but the editorials and descriptions of some of the officers in the Legislature were not kind. And so this is an example of where it’s being pitched to voters as neutral, when really it’s clearly not,” McGrane said.

States with different political leanings have statewide voter guides, former Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson wrote in a letter to the committee. Grayson, who was also president of the National Associations of Secretaries of State, said statewide voter guides have “proven especially effective in rural Western regions” with less news coverage or active civic groups. 

“Today’s fractured media landscape and polarized politics make it difficult for voters to find reliable information about elections,” Grayson wrote. “By offering the basic facts about the candidates running for office, a voter guide provides a base level of knowledge without partisan spin. For many, it’s one of the few unbiased resources available ahead of election time.” 

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A state-distributed Idaho voter guide would likely have a higher rate of candidates participating than the 65% participating in the League of Women Voters of Idaho guides, Kendal Shaber, who represented the organization, told the committee.

“And, if we’re lucky, increase voter turnout,” she said.



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U of Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger investigated in 2nd home invasion attack

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U of Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger investigated in 2nd home invasion attack


Alleged mass-murderer Bryan Kohberger was reportedly investigated in connection with another home invasion attack that occurred not far from where he’s accused of slaying four University of Idaho students in an off-campus home. The 29-year-old suspect was arrested at his parents’ Pennsylvania home in December 2022 after four students were killed in a house where three of them had lived and a …



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Bryan Kohberger investigated over nearby home invasion year before alleged slayings of 4 University of Idaho students

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Bryan Kohberger investigated over nearby home invasion year before alleged slayings of 4 University of Idaho students


Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger was once investigated in connection to a chilling home invasion that took place mere miles from where he allegedly slaughtered four college students inside their off-campus housing in 2022, according to a new report.

New information about the accused killer comes after ABC News obtained bodycam footage of police responding to a suspected home invasion in nearby Pullman, Wash., in October 2021 — more than a year before the University of Idaho students were stabbed to death.

“I heard my door open and I looked over, and someone was wearing a ski mask and had a knife,” a frightened woman told police.

“I kicked the s–t out of their stomach and screamed super loud, and they like flew back into my closet and then ran out my door and up the stairs.”

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The alleged incident — which took place just 10 miles from the gruesome slayings in Moscow, Idaho — happened at 3:30 a.m., the woman told police, adding that the masked intruder was silent the whole time.

Her roommate immediately called the police, the outlet reported, but the case was left unsolved as police were left without a suspect or evidence at the time.

The terrifying incident shared eerie similarities with the gruesome quadruple University of Idaho murders.

Officials said Bryan Kohberger was investigated in connection with a home invasion that took place prior to killing Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, both 21, their housemate Xana Kernodle, 20, and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20, on Nov. 13, 2022. AP

Kohberger, 29, is accused of butchering students Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Madison Mogen, 21, around 4 a.m. inside their off-campus house on Nov. 13, 2022.

A surviving housemate later told police she saw a masked man with “bushy eyebrows” fleeing the house after overhearing cries and sounds of a struggle.

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Kohberger, a criminology Ph.D. student at Washington State University, was arrested at his parents’ Pennsylvania home on Dec. 30 and charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary — charges he has since pleaded not guilty.

Thirteen days later he was named a person of interest in the Pullman case, ABC reported, but is no longer considered a suspect. 

“We have no reason or evidence to believe he was involved in this burglary at this time,” Pullman police told the outlet, citing a height difference between the alleged attackers.

While Kohberger is 6 feet tall, the alleged attacker in the Pullman incident was described as being 5’3′ to 5’5′. The accused stabber was also not yet enrolled at Washington State University at the time of the 2021 incident, the outlet reported.

Kohberger stabbed the four individuals at approximately 4 a.m. in Moscow, Idaho.

The case is now closed but remains unsolved, police said.

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“My family and I have been frustrated that the case was not investigated more in-depth or resolved,” the victim in the break-in told the outlet.

Kohberger’s highly anticipated trial is slated to begin in August and last through November.

Kohberger is currently facing four first-degree murder charges and a felony burglary charge in connection with the early morning massacre. REUTERS
The victim expressed their family’s frustration that the case was not investigated more thouroughly. Pullman Police Department

The lengthy trial, which was moved to Idaho’s capital of Boise, will include two phases — one to determine his guilt or innocence, and the other, if he’s found guilty, to determine whether he should receive the death penalty. 



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Bryan Kohberger probed for home invasion year before Idaho student murders

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Bryan Kohberger probed for home invasion year before Idaho student murders


Bryan Kohberger, the suspect in the Idaho quadruple murder case, was once investigated in connection with a home invasion in Pullman, Washington. This opens many doors for a flock of questions.

Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students, is escorted into court for a hearing in Latah County District Court, Sept. 13, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, Pool, File)(AP)

Who is Bryan Kohberger?

Kohberger, a 28-year-old PhD criminology student at Washington State University, was arrested weeks after the Idaho murders at his parents’ home in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. He now faces four first-degree murder charges and a felony burglary charge. Prosecutors allege Kohberger meticulously planned the attack, stalking the victims’ off-campus rental home prior to the killings.

The Pullman home invasion occurred in October 2021, just 10 miles from Moscow, Idaho, where four college students were brutally stabbed to death in November 2022. Newly released body camera footage cited by ABC News provides a bodycam footage of the break-in that left a young woman traumatized and fearing for her life.

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“I heard my door open and I looked over, and someone was wearing a ski mask and had a knife,” the woman told officers in the footage, her voice trembling. “I kicked the s*** out of their stomach and screamed super loud. They flew back into my closet and then ran out my door and up the stairs.”

Kohberger named person of interest in Pullman case after Idaho murders

The alleged attack happened around 3:30 a.m. The masked intruder, who carried a knife, entered her bedroom silently. Despite her quick reaction and her roommate’s immediate call to 911, police found no trace of the suspect or any physical evidence.

Just over a year later, on November 13, 2022, the town of Moscow, Idaho, was shaken by the brutal murders of Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20. Survivors in the home described a masked man with “bushy eyebrows” fleeing after hearing cries and the sounds of a violent struggle.

Thirteen days after the Idaho murders, Kohberger was named a person of interest in the Pullman case. The eerie similarities between the two incidents—both involving a masked intruder, a knife, and nighttime break-ins—drew immediate attention. However, authorities later clarified that Kohberger is no longer considered a suspect in the Pullman case.

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Despite initial suspicions, critical differences between the Pullman and Moscow cases ultimately ruled out Kohberger’s involvement in the earlier incident. The victim of the Pullman break-in described the intruder as 5’3” to 5’5”, while Kohberger stands six feet tall.



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