Voters canceling registration

BONNERS FERRY — “How do I unregister to vote” is a question Boundary County Clerk Glenda Poston is not used to answering.

At the April 4, Boundary County commission meeting, Poston posed this question to Tevis Hull, the County Civil Attorney and Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney.

There is nothing in Idaho Code that says a voter can’t voluntarily cancel their voter registration, Poston said. State code does allow an election clerk to override a registration if someone hasn’t voted in four years, has died or has registered to vote elsewhere.

If someone is not registered to vote, they can’t vote as a “sovereign citizen,” Poston said. They must re-register to vote as required by Idaho Code.

Hull said that in Boundary County elections, people have tried to vote as a sovereign citizen. They can’t do that, rather they can register to vote the day of election by providing identification. If they wish to remove themselves as a registered voter after the election, that can be done, he said.

Poston clarified that more than one person came in to vote as a sovereign citizen in the past election. That’s something the clerk said she had never seen before as a clerk, nor had she seen anyone ask to be unregistered to vote.

County Commissioner Dan Dinning asked if these individuals are registered today. Poston said they were not. She said they were removed from the voter system, but in order to vote they must re-register.

For the May 17 election, the last day to change party affiliation was March 11. The Democratic primary is open to anyone that is registered to vote, regardless of party affiliation. A voter can vote in the Democratic primary.

The Republican primary is a closed primary, so only those registered with the party can vote in that election. This has caused some confusion for voters.

Elections Clerk Cherry Grainger said that at the polls, the Republican ballot can be requested by unaffiliated voters as well as those that are registered as Republicans. Once an unaffiliated voter requests a Republican ballot, they will be marked in the poll book as a Republican.

The request also registers that voter as a Republican. However, after the election if the voter wishes to change their party affiliation, they can do so by filling out the “Idaho Political Party Affiliation Declaration Form,” Grainger said.

March 11 was the deadline to change party affiliation before the May 17 election.

Voters who wish to vote non-partisan or independent and do not wish to affiliate with the Democrat or Republican parties will only receive a ballot for the judicial branch, Grainger said.

If you are not registered to vote, you can register at the polling location. Bring a driver’s license or other identification. If your license has a different address than where you currently reside, then you must bring something such as a utility bill with the complete address as well.