In light of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling June 25 that struck down key provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, state governments are now afforded more authority in the construction of their voting processes and procedures, and some southern states are already contemplating some adjustments. In Idaho, officials are open to election reforms, but there appears to be no discussion of urgent or eminent changes nor has a consensus on the matter emerged. “We have been making changes to our voting laws all along as the need has arisen,” said Tim Hurst, deputy secretary of state. “We have done this without any federal oversight,” he added to IdahoReporter.com. In its 5-4 ruling, Supreme Court justices said the voting act’s requirement that mainly states in the South must undergo special scrutiny before changing their voting laws is based on a 40-year-old formula that is no longer relevant to the nation’s changing racial circumstances.
“The part of the Voting Rights Act that was struck down deals mainly with the pre-clearance provisions,” Hurst explained. “Idaho does not have a history of racial discrimination and is not required to pre-clear voting law changes like Texas and other predominantly southern states were required to do.”
Hurst added that Idaho has revised its voting processes and procedures within the past couple of years. “Since the implementation of election consolidation by the Legislature in 2011, elections for just about all jurisdictions except irrigation and various groundwater districts have been conducted by the county clerks pursuant to Title 34, Chapter 14 of the Idaho Code. All procedures are established at the state level.” he told IdahoReporter.com.
Still, some members of Idaho’s Legislature told IdahoReporter.com that this may be an opportune time to revise how voting happens within the state.
Full Article: IdahoReporter.com.