Idaho Secretary of State’s Office investigated more than 40 campaign complaints before primary

Ahead of the May 19 primary, Idaho’s statewide election office investigated more than 40 official complaints against campaigns. 

Most of those complaints were resolved without penalties, one candidate withdrew himself, and five of those investigations are ongoing, according to Idaho Secretary of State records obtained by the Idaho Capital Sun. 

The office of Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane oversees statewide, legislative and judicial races, while county clerks oversee local contests. Seven of the complaints received before the primary election were referred to county clerks. 

“Our office carefully reviews every official campaign finance complaint we receive,” office Communications Director Chelsea Bishop said in an emailed statement to the Sun. “Our goal is to work with candidates and campaigns to resolve issues, provide education and guidance on compliance, and when necessary, issue fines or take corrective action for violations. Secretary McGrane has been a strong advocate for continued campaign finance reform for over a decade, which would allow candidates to continue campaigning while giving increased transparency and information to all Idahoans.”

Despite complaints, Bonner County Republican Central Committee found to be in compliance 

There were three complaints submitted related to the Bonner County Republican Central Committee’s endorsement of two primary candidates that served in leadership positions in the committee. The endorsement included Scott Herndon, who was chairman of the county party central committee and successfully ran in the primary for District 1 state senator against incumbent Republican Sen. Jim Woodard. The other endorsement was for the party treasurer Steve Smith, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary for District 1 Bonner County commissioner. 

The secretary of state’s office found that the central committee “had a system for endorsing candidates without chair involvement” and kept expenditures on campaign materials independent, the office said in its reported action on one of the complaints. 

The central committee had produced what it called an “Official Republican Voter Guide,” which elicited a complaint. The secretary’s office determined the use of the term “official voter guide” was protected political speech. 

Secretary of State’s Office still investigating Idaho Values First

Three complaints were filed against a group called Idaho Values First that was reportedly running television ads and sending mailers in opposition of incumbent candidates including Sens. Christy Zito, Glenneda Zuiderveld, Josh Kohl and Dan Foreman. The group is not registered with the Idaho Secretary of State’s database and hasn’t reported its electioneering expenditures. 

The complaints came from Mountain Home, Kamiah and Potlatch, Idaho. The secretary of state’s office wrote that investigations into those complaints were all ongoing. 

Candidates returned business contributions exceedings limits 

One complaint alleged that three businesses, all owned by the same man, donated a total that violated the $1,000 campaign contribution limit to legislative candidates Sen. Tammy Nichols and Brian McKellar. 

Separate businesses primarily owned by the same individual are held to the contribution limit per candidate for the total provided by all their entities together, according to Idaho’s campaign finance laws. 

Happy Hippo LLC, Animal Farm Family LLC, and Animal Farm Realty are all registered in state business filings under Christopher Deoudes. Each of those companies reported contributing $1,000 to the Nichols and McKellar campaigns, Idaho’s campaign finance database shows. The Secretary of State’s Office said the candidates returned the contributions that exceeded the limit, according to the records. 

One candidate withdrew from the race after complaint, arrest 

One complaint contested the eligibility for office of legislative candidate Gary Butts, who was running for a state senate seat in District 15. Butts had a 2006 felony conviction for enticing a child over the internet and completed his sentence in 2017. Butts is on the state sex offender registry, and a complaint came in that his address in the registry was outside of the district. His address appeared to be updated to show he does live in the district. 

However, under the Idaho state Constitution and state law, those who are convicted of a felony are not qualified to hold public office until they’ve had their rights restored upon fulfilling their sentence. 

On Feb. 26, the same day the complaint was filed, Butts was charged with another felony offense for battery against health care workers, according to court records. That case has not yet been resolved, but if he were convicted, he would be ineligible for office. Butts chose to withdraw from the race after the arrest, staff from the Secretary of State’s Office confirmed. 

Many disclosure complaints resolved by candidates 

An Idaho Falls billboard endorsing incumbent candidates Reps. Erin Bingham and Stephanie Mickelson and Sen. Kevin Cook was reported for lacking a disclosure of who paid for it, according to records. The billboard was later edited to include the disclosure, according to the records. 

A campaign sign for candidate legislative Chad Christensen was also reported for a lack of disclosure statement, but the candidate added one, the records said. 

The office was unable to determine the source of texted messages in opposition to incumbent Rep. Lucas Cayler that reportedly included no disclosure as to who paid for the messages. Emails sent in opposition to Jerome County Commissioner candidate Jerry Holton didn’t identify who sent them, and election officials only had the email address [email protected] to try to contact the sender. The office reported sending an email, but didn’t specify if staff received a reply.