Idaho elections look sketchy. The November 4th election seemed to be the gift that kept on giving, and now that it's finally over, we’re officially at the point of questioning whether “free and secure elections” actually means anything at all. Not only did we watch the unfolding of events that looked strikingly like political targeting and voter intimidation by local government entities leading up to the election in places like Jerome County, but we also saw potential mismanagement at the local level after the election. 

As our year-long documentation of local issues attests, local governments in Idaho are… truly not the best. 

In the weeks leading up to the election, the Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF) broke the story of what appeared to be a case of good-ol’-fashion political targeting from the Valley School District against local businesses and students’ parents who opposed a supplemental levy in the May 2025 election. 

Though many residents felt intimidated for opposing the levy openly, many still did in the days and weeks leading up to the election — and, as a result, the IFF has received continued reports of what appears to be voter intimidation. One private property owner reported a man knocking on her front door, demanding that she remove her “Vote No” on the levy sign.   

The homeowner, who caught the entire exchange on camera, contacted law enforcement after the man reportedly used intimidating language and informed her she “had until Friday” to remove the sign from her own property. And the kicker? The sign wasn’t even new! She had displayed the same “Vote No” sign for multiple election cycles without issue. But suddenly — after the levy failed in May 2025, for the first time in over a decade — it became anti-child, anti-education, and apparently a matter requiring door-to-door enforcement.

Additionally, a local business owner, Marco Dodge, received a letter warning he would likely lose business if he did not remove his “Vote No” on the levy sign. Charming. 

Dodge stated he opposed the levy because he was concerned about a lack of transparency on the ballot in how the levy money was being spent.

These incidents, stacked on top of the ones previously reported on October 14, paint an increasingly alarming picture of broader election issues that are difficult to ignore.  

But wait, there’s more.

If Jerome County gave us a preview of how campaign season went for citizens, Elmore County decided to demonstrate how certifying the election results seemed to go — or, more accurately, not go.

Election Day came and went a month ago with seemingly few problems; however, the same cannot be said for the aftermath. Just when voters thought the excitement was over, Elmore County delivered a plot twist: Almost 400 ballots were discovered that were not tallied in the final results.

The uncounted ballots do not appear to have been tampered with, nor damaged. Just misplaced. You know, like socks in a dryer — except these “socks” represent people’s participation in their local government. 

As of November 24, VoteIdaho.gov reported 2,820 ballots counted in the November 4 election in Elmore County. After the recount, the election site shows 3,208 ballots cast on Election Day. That means roughly 12% of the votes cast by tax-paying citizens were not initially counted!

In a county where fewer than 30 votes decided several races and ballot measures, the existence of almost 400 uncounted ballots is not exactly a small administrative “whoopsie.” The large number of uncounted ballots created a real concern that the initial unofficial results could change. However, after a recount — supervised by the Secretary of State, the Elmore County Clerk, and the offices of the Elmore County Prosecutor and Attorney General — no race results changed because of the uncounted ballots. 

According to the Secretary of State's office, the Board of Canvassers is working to certify the results from last week's recount today, December 1, and the final election results are currently under Judicial Review, per Idaho statute. 

All of this unfolded, ironically enough, as a government transparency workshop was kicked off on November 19 at the Capitol. Nothing says “committed to transparency” like potential voter intimidation in one county and misplaced ballots in the next. 

So, the question is, should Idahoans be concerned about their elections? Well, if you consider alleged political targeting and intimidation, and a roughly 12% ballot-misplacement rate concerning, then we’d say the answer is yes. Otherwise, everything appears business as usual. 

Just ask your local government.