Sen. Brian Lenney wants to repeal a part of state law that lets registered voters sign an affidavit to prove their identity in order to vote.

The Nampa Republican proposed the bill Wednesday to the Senate State Affairs Committee, the Idaho Capital Sun reports. Current law allows registered voters to present a signed affidavit as an alternative to photo identification at the polls. 

“I would submit that there’s no valid excuse to show up last minute at the polls without an ID,” said Lenney, who called the affidavit process a “loophole.”

“You can’t go to a bar without an ID and sign a piece of paper saying, ‘I swear I’m 21,’ and get served drinks,” Lenney said, according to the Sun.

Lenney referenced the 2023 Legislature’s elimination of student IDs as a valid form of voter identification and lawmakers’ creation of a no-fee ID issued by the Department of Transportation that voters may use.

Still, not that many voters use the affidavit method, according to numbers Lenney highlighted before the committee. Of the 255,197 ballots cast in the 2025 election, the sate recorded .23% as using an affidavit.

A similar bill Lenney introduced last year never received a hearing. The House of Representatives voted down a bill that would have done the same thing in 2023. 

County election offices review affidavits to confirm the voter’s personal information and signature, said Chelsea Bishop, communications director for the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office.