By Secretary of State Phil McGrane
Highlights from the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office
March 6, 2026
Spring Cleaning Idaho’s Voter Rolls
It’s March, and despite Idaho’s sorry excuse for a winter, spring is in the air. The Ides of March also bring a familiar rite of the season: spring cleaning. It’s the time of year when you dust the baseboards, donate items you no longer need, and give your home a fresh start.
Elections are no different.
This time of year, Idaho’s county clerks conduct a more thorough review of our voter rolls. While voter records are updated year-round, this annual review is one of the primary ways we ensure Idaho’s elections remain accurate and secure and that only eligible Idahoans are registered to vote.
How Idaho Maintains Accurate Voter Rolls
As part of this year’s statewide review, county clerks removed over 19,000 voters who hadn’t voted in the last 4 years or who were flagged for a change of address or ineligibility. It’s a mechanism built into Idaho law to keep our voter rolls current, and each year I report our state’s efforts to the Idaho Senate.
But just like your home needs more than one deep clean a year, annual list maintenance alone isn’t enough. That’s why counties routinely work with federal and state agencies — including the Bureau of Vital Statistics, the Department of Corrections, and other state and federal databases to keep records accurate year-round. When someone passes away, the Bureau of Vital Statistics alerts us, and they’re promptly removed from the rolls. When someone moves, our statewide voter system is updated, and we work with other states to remove voters who have moved out of Idaho.
And we don’t stop there. Idaho became the first state in the nation to take executive action ensuring that only U.S. citizens can vote. Governor Brad Little’s Only Citizens Will Vote Act Executive Order prompted a comprehensive citizenship verification of all registered voters through the Idaho Transportation Department’s DMV, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) databases.
The result? Clean rolls, secure elections, and the confidence that only eligible citizens are casting ballots while also ensuring no legal voter is inadvertently removed from the voter rolls.
When you’re done dusting the top of the fridge, take five minutes to visit VoteIdaho.gov and check or update your voter registration. Then join me at the polls on May 19 for the Idaho Primary!
Phil McGrane
About Phil McGrane
Phil McGrane was elected Idaho’s twenty-eighth Secretary of State and took office on January 2, 2023. McGrane served as elected Clerk of Ada County from 2019-2022. McGrane holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy, a juris doctorate, and a Master of Public Administration. As a fourth-generation Idahoan, Phil has dedicated his career to making elections in the state of Idaho accessible, secure and transparent.
