Idaho House rejects funding for secretary of state to publish voter pamphlet

The Idaho House of Representatives on Wednesday rejected a proposed budget increase to pay for the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office to produce an informational voters’ pamphlet, as required by law. 

Following a short debate, members of the Idaho House rejected House Bill 909 on a 27-43 vote. 

House Bill 909 is a fiscal year 2027 budget enhancement for the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office. The bill included $350,000 in one-time funding to pay for the voter pamphlet and a $20,000 transfer to pay for overtime for the post-election audit team in the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office, according to the fiscal note attached to the bill. 

Idaho law requires the Idaho Secretary of State to print and mail an informational voters’ pamphlet to every household in the state in years when a constitutional amendment, ballot initiative or referendum is going to be voted on during a general election, such as the 2026 general election. 

“They do not have any money in their budget to put out that voter pamphlet currently, even though they are required by law to do so,” Rep. James Petzke, R-Meridian, said. 

“If we did not fund this, they would potentially be in conflict with the law, because they are required for the law to put that out,” Petzke added. 

Idaho secretary of state didn’t participate in budget cuts for 2026, 2027, legislator says

In 2023 and 2024, the Idaho House did not act on bills proposed by Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane that would have expanded on and replaced the existing voters’ pamphlet. The Idaho Senate passed the bills in both years, but neither bill advanced in the Idaho House. 

The voters’ pamphlet may have only been part of the issue this time. 

Rep. Josh Tanner, a Republican from Eagle who serves as co-chair of the Idaho Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, argued against approving the funding for the voters’ pamphlet Wednesday. 

Tanner told legislators that McGrane was the only statewide elected constitutional officer who did not participate in the budget holdbacks in fiscal year 2026 and fiscal year 2027.

“The problem I have is that (McGrane) was the one constitutional officer that did not take a cut,” Tanner said. 

Petzke said the Idaho House did vote to reduce funding for the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office in a separate budget bill.

Senate Bill 1331, the 2026 Idaho Rescissions Act, reduced funding for the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office by $850,000, which is the equivalent of 15% of the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office’s base budget. 

In an email McGrane sent to legislators Wednesday, McGrane said the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office worked with the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee to make changes to IT hosting contracts to achieve the savings. 

Tanner said the savings is coming through contract renegotiations, which Tanner said state agencies should be doing anyway. 

In a Jan. 30 letter to Tanner, McGrane wrote that his office did not participate in Gov. Brad Little’s original 3% holdbacks because he determined the cuts would directly impair his office’s core responsibilities for business filings and administering state elections. In 2026, all statewide elected officials and all 105 seats in the Idaho Legislature are up for election.

It was not immediately clear Wednesday what the rejection of funding means for the voters’ pamphlet. Legislators may attempt to pass a new proposal to secure the funding before the 2026 legislative session adjourns for the year.