Bill Description: Senate Bill 1166 would allow Election Day voter registration to be limited to specific locations and allow the increased use of provisional ballots.

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Does it violate the spirit or the letter of either the U.S. Constitution or the Idaho Constitution? Examples include restrictions on speech, public assembly, the press, privacy, private property, or firearms. Conversely, does it restore or uphold the protections guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution or the Idaho Constitution?

Senate Bill 1166 amends Section 34-408A, Idaho Code, to allow a county clerk to "designate one (1) or more polling places to be used for election day registration, in lieu of providing election day registration services at every polling place or at the absent electors' polling place."

Senate Bill 1166 creates sections 34-1115 and 34-1116, Idaho Code, to allow for the increased use of provisional ballots, including in cases where "the voter is not found in the poll book, if the [election] judge is not satisfied that the voter has provided valid voter identification or proof of residence, or in such other similar situations as deemed necessary by the judge of elections."

By allowing for the centralization of Election Day voter registration and the increased use of provisional ballots, Senate Bill 1166 has the potential to increase election security and require greater scrutiny of ballots cast by unverified electors.

The value of these changes would be enhanced by requiring that Election Day voter registration be limited to specific locations and that such voters be issued only provisional ballots. 

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