Bill Description: House Bill 673 would require a legislative candidate to have maintained a home in the district for a year before filing, rather than a year before the general election.
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Does it in any way restrict public access to information related to government activity or otherwise compromise government transparency, accountability, or election integrity? Conversely, does it increase public access to information related to government activity or increase government transparency, accountability, or election integrity?
House Bill 673 would amend Section 34-614, Idaho Code, to impose new requirements on legislative candidates. Currently, the law says a candidate must “have been a registered elector within the legislative district one (1) year next preceding the general election at which he offers his candidacy.”
The bill would expand on this, saying that a legislative candidate must both have been a registered elector within the legislative district for one (1) year immediately preceding the general election at which he offers his candidacy” and have “maintained a fixed habitation within the legislative district boundaries for one (1) year immediately preceding the date such candidate files a declaration of candidacy for the office of representative or senator.”
It defines a “fixed habitation” as “a residence as defined in section 34-107, Idaho Code, at which the candidate maintains actual physical presence and occupancy for at least one hundred twenty (120) nights during the one (1) year period immediately preceding the date such candidate files a declaration of candidacy for the office of representative or senator.”
This change would limit who has the right to seek public office.
The most troubling aspect of the bill is its retroactive application. The filing deadline for state legislature is more than eight months before the general election, so this bill significantly changes the standard for who is eligible to run for office. The bill’s enactment clause says it “shall be in full force and effect on and after its passage and approval,” and it contains no protection for those who have already made the decision to run for office based on the existing standard.
Under current law, someone who moved into a district prior to Nov. 3, 2025, would be eligible to run for state legislature in the 2026 election. Under House Bill 673, that same person would be required to have established a residence in the district before February 27, 2025, to be eligible to run for office.
The filing period for the state legislature is February 23 - 27, 2026, and this bill could disqualify candidates who have been campaigning and raising money for months. And this bill would be passed even as the filing period is taking place. It is also possible that some candidates won’t realize this bill exists or understand the change, will still file, and then, deeper into the election cycle, they will be informed by the SOS that they have been disqualified — after it’s too late for anyone else to enter the race.
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