Data Request for Local Ballot Initiatives/Referenda
| Submitted | March 5, 2024 |
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Communications
From: Jimin Han
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Idaho Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:
I am requesting data on local ballot initiatives/referenda that took place in the state since 1972. Specifically, I need the following information to be included in the data.
1. Text of the ballot initiative/referendum
2. Local government where the election took place.
3. County where the local government is located
4. Election date
5. Result of election (votes for, votes against, pass/fail)
6. Threshold to pass (50%, two-thirds, etc)
I have located a potential data source from your state at the following link: https://canvass.sos.idaho.gov/eng/ballot_questions/search/year_from:1990/year_to:2022/ballot_question_type:Local%20Proposition
However, the data at this link does not contain informationon election date or threshold. In addition, it contains only information on elections after 2014, while I request data for elections since 1972.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 3 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Jimin Han
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Idaho Public Records Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 5, 2024. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Idaho Public Records Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 5, 2024. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Idaho Secretary of State
Dear Mr. Han,
I received your March 26, 2024 letter in the mail today.
As I explained when I called you on March 26th, we at the Secretary of State's office do not have documents responsive to your prior letters of March 5 (received March 18) and March 11 (received March 20).
As I stated, the information you sought was most likely maintained, if at all, and depending on the time frames, at either the individual county level (Idaho has 44 counties) or city level, where the initiative and referendum processes would originate and where the elections are conducted. I provided you with both website addresses and phone numbers of those entities, as well as some that may have the historical information you seek. I also directed you to https://voteidaho.gov where you can find the contacts for each county.
The historical information you are seeking (the years prior to that already readily and publicly available on the website you reference), from 1972-2014, is not available through our office in the format you seem to think it is, based on what has previously been compiled for other date ranges. The historical data available can be found at https://sos.idaho.gov/elections-division/election-results
I was unable to open the link you included in your letter. You may be referencing https://canvass.sos.idaho.gov - "Every election at your fingertips. A searchable database of historical information, all from official source documents." As you can see under the "About" link, the database created is limited to 1990-2022. There was nothing similarly created, and therefore available, outside of those years. Again, in terms of the underlying data, that would be available, if at all, at the individual county level.
We are happy to help where and when we can with the information we have available. If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact us. Please submit this and future requests through the Public Records Request online system we have put in place. This will ensure the best and most timely response.
Sincerely,
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Kate Lynch
Elections Specialist
Office of the Idaho Secretary of State
Direct: (208) 332-2863
Email: email@sos.idaho.gov<mailto:email@sos.idaho.gov>
700 W Jefferson St, E205
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