[BOISE] – In a 5-0 decision, the Idaho Supreme Court today upheld Idaho’s voter ID law and affirmed in full the district court’s decision from last October in Babe Vote and League of Women Voters of Idaho v. Phil McGrane. Idaho’s challenged law states that student identification cards are not valid identification when it comes to registering to vote, citing a lack of uniformity and sophistication.
“This is a strong victory for election security and the minimum standards that must be met in order to vote,” said Attorney General Raúl Labrador. “The Idaho legislature took steps to improve our election security, but rather than encouraging young people to obtain their free state voter IDs, advocacy groups took legal action against the State, alleging age discrimination. We are pleased with this victory but acknowledge liberal advocacy groups are bringing similar claims in Federal court, and we will continue to defend these laws.”
The initial district court ruling stated, “The new laws are rationally related to their stated purpose to clarify and create uniformity by requiring only generally accepted, authentic, and reliable forms of identification as a reasonable condition to exercise the right of suffrage.”
The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed in today’s ruling that, “House Bills 124 and 340 are reasonable exercises of the legislature’s authority to enact conditions on the right of suffrage under Article VI, section 4 of the Idaho Constitution.”