Wednesday, July 22, 2026 · Off-Session

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Elections

Ada County Road Fee Renewal Heads to November Ballot — But Truck Exemption Stirs Debate

Ada County voters will have a say this November on whether to extend a long-standing vehicle registration fee that pumps roughly $14 million annually into road and bridge maintenance across the county, after the Ada County Highway District Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to place the measure on the general election ballot. A Fee With […]

By Idaho Politics Staff · July 22, 2026
Elections

Idaho Governor’s Race Candidates Split on November Abortion Rights Initiative

Two of Idaho’s gubernatorial challengers have publicly declared their support for a November ballot measure that would roll back the state’s near-total abortion ban, while the Constitution Party candidate has vowed to fight the initiative if it passes. Republican incumbent Gov. Brad Little did not respond to requests for comment on the measure. Where the […]

By Idaho Politics Staff · July 22, 2026
Elections

Idaho Attorney General’s Office Tells DOJ to Back Off McGrane, Drop Election Lawsuit

Idaho’s attorney general office fired back at the U.S. Department of Justice this month, demanding federal officials cease direct contact with Secretary of State Phil McGrane and drop a civil lawsuit filed against him earlier this year over access to voter registration records. James E. M. Craig, a division chief in the Idaho Attorney General’s […]

By Idaho Politics Staff · July 17, 2026
Elections

Idaho Abortion Rights Initiative Cleared for November Ballot After Record Signature Haul

Idaho’s Secretary of State has approved the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act for the November ballot, setting up a direct confrontation between voters and the state’s near-total abortion ban that has been in effect since 2022. The certification follows a signature drive that produced more validated signatures than any other qualifying initiative in Idaho history. […]

By Idaho Politics Staff · July 13, 2026
Elections

Idaho’s Top Election Official Pushes Back on Federal Pressure to Overhaul Voting Rules Before November

Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane, a Republican seeking a second term, says no changes to the state’s voting rules are expected before the November election — even as the Trump administration intensifies pressure on states to restrict mail-in voting and tighten noncitizen voting enforcement. Federal Push to Reshape State Election Laws The U.S. Department […]

By Idaho Politics Staff · July 12, 2026
Elections

Idaho Abortion Initiative Draws Signatures From Across Party Lines, Including Thousands of Republicans

A campaign to restore abortion access in Idaho has gathered more than 110,000 petition signatures — well above the roughly 71,000 needed to qualify — and organizers say roughly 28 percent of those signatures came from registered Republicans in a state President Trump carried by nearly 37 percentage points last year. The Reproductive Freedom and […]

By Idaho Politics Staff · July 10, 2026
Elections

Justice Department Warns Idaho’s Top Election Official of Criminal Prosecution Risk Over Noncitizen Voting

The Trump administration this week warned Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane that election officials could face criminal charges if noncitizens cast ballots in the 2026 federal midterm elections — part of a nationwide campaign by the Justice Department to pressure states on voter roll compliance. The Warning Letter A seven-page letter from the Justice […]

By Idaho Politics Staff · July 10, 2026
Elections

Idaho Democrats Running for Governor, Schools Chief Bring Campaign to Eastern Idaho This Weekend

Idaho’s Democratic nominees for governor and state superintendent of public instruction are taking their campaigns to eastern Idaho this weekend, scheduling back-to-back public events in Pocatello and Idaho Falls. Terri Pickens, the Democratic candidate for governor, and Dr. Becky Sundin Mitchell, running for state superintendent of public instruction, will appear together at both stops. The […]

By Idaho Politics Staff · July 10, 2026
Elections

Idaho Election Watchdog Warns Pop-Up PACs Hide Money Until After Votes Are Cast

A campaign finance concern is drawing renewed attention in Idaho and beyond: so-called “pop-up” political action committees that form late in an election cycle, spend heavily, and dissolve quickly — leaving voters with little information about who actually funded the effort until the ballots are long counted. The structure exploits a gap between disclosure timelines […]

By Idaho Politics Staff · July 7, 2026
Elections

Retired Idaho Supreme Court Justice John Stegner Enters Governor’s Race as Independent

John Stegner, a retired Idaho Supreme Court justice with 25 years on the bench, formally launched an independent campaign for Idaho governor on Tuesday, positioning himself as an alternative to a field that already includes incumbent Republican Gov. Brad Little and several other challengers. A Judicial Career Turned Campaign Stegner’s path to the courtroom began […]

By Idaho Politics Staff · July 7, 2026
Elections

Supreme Court Upholds Birthright Citizenship, Rejecting Idaho-Backed Push to Narrow Fourteenth Amendment

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that children born on American soil to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present in the country are citizens at birth, delivering a setback to Idaho’s attorney general and two dozen other Republican attorneys general who had urged the justices to restrict birthright citizenship. Background: A Day-One Executive Order […]

By Idaho Politics Staff · July 7, 2026
Elections

Democrats Abandon Maine Senate Nominee Platner as Sexual Assault Allegation Threatens Key Race

Maine’s Democratic Party is fracturing around its newly nominated U.S. Senate candidate after a woman accused Graham Platner of sexual assault, triggering a wave of withdrawn endorsements and calls from national party leaders for him to exit the race before a looming legal deadline. The Allegation and Platner’s Response Platner, 41, won the Democratic nomination […]

By Idaho Politics Staff · July 6, 2026