Idaho Bill Would Remove Six Month Requirement For No-Fee ID Cards

By Mia Maldonado, Idaho Capital Sun

February 20, 2024

One year after modifying voter registration requirements, the Idaho Legislature is taking steps to revise its requirements for Idahoans to obtain no-fee identification cards.

In a 62-7 vote on Tuesday, the Idaho House of Representatives passed House Bill 532, which would remove the six month waiting period for individuals to qualify for a no-fee identification card through the Idaho Department of Transportation.

The bill addresses issues that arose from two laws last year.

Last year, through House Bill 124, the Idaho Legislature removed student IDs as a valid form of personal identification to vote. As an alternative, it adopted House Bill 340 which provides no-fee IDs for people who have not had a driver’s license for at least six months and who indicate on their application that they need the ID for voting requirements.

However, at least two voter advocacy groups have argued that people without driver’s licenses are most vulnerable to the new laws, and that there are nuances that lawmakers did not consider — such as students moving to Idaho for college, renters with new addresses, or elderly people who moved to care facilities and no longer drive all face the most challenges when registering to vote.

The bill sponsor, Rep. Brandon Mitchell, R-Moscow, said the legislation would fix those situations that sponsors did not initially consider when they first passed the bill.

“Let’s say we’ve got grandma moving in from Montana, and grandma had a driver’s license in Montana but cannot drive anymore, so she’s moving in with family,” he said during the floor debate. “Well because she had a Montana driver’s license within the last six months, she does not qualify for the free ID. What this does is simply remove that six months so that she will qualify for the free ID.”

The bill is now headed to the Idaho Senate for consideration.

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