Amends, repeals, and adds to existing law to revise provisions regarding the returning and verification of absentee ballots.

Currently, Idahoans who vote by absentee ballot must sign the affidavit on the outside of the return envelope, exposing the voter’s signature to anyone who sees the mail. The county clerk then accepts the ballot if the signature appears to match the signature in the voter registration record. However, signature matching is an inexactscience. Thislegislationprovidesbothforimprovedelectionintegrityandpersonalinformationsecurity in the absentee balloting process. It does this by adding the requirement that the voter also write their driver’s license or state photo ID number, and the last four digits of their social security number, and requiring the Secretary of State to design a system by which this personally identifiable information, including the voter’s signature, is not be visible on the outside of the return envelope. The solution will likely be either a large-flap two-envelope system or a three-envelope system.