Frequently Asked Questions

Statewide and Legislative Candidates
Visit the Secretary of State's Website for information on running for office.

County Candidate

1. File a C-1 (Political Treasurer Appointment) form through the Secretary of State's Campaign Finance Portal on or before officially announcing your intentions to run, or designate yourself as treasurer on your Declaration of Candidacy form.
2. File a Petition of Candidacy with the County Elections Department during candidate filing.  Partisan County candidates may pay a filing fee with the Elections Department in lieu filing a Petition of Candidacy.
3. File a Declaration of Candidacy with the County Elections Department during candidate filing.
4. Optional but extremely helpful - Fill out the Contact Information sheet in your candidate packet provided by the County Elections Department.
5. File all necessary Campaign Disclosure Reports on time using the campaign finance portal.
   
   

City Candidate

1. File a C-1 (Political Treasurer Appointment) form through the Secretary of State's Campaign Finance Portal on or before officially announcing your intentions to run, or designate yourself as treasurer on your Declaration of Candidacy form.  Online reporting is not required until the candidate receives or expends $500.
2. File a Petition of Candidacy or pay a filing fee with the City Clerk during candidate filing.
3. File a Declaration of Candidacy with the City Clerk during candidate filing.
4. File all necessary Campaign Disclosure forms on time using the campaign finance portal.
   
   

Taxing District Candidate

1. File a C-1 (Political Treasurer Appointment) form through the Secretary of State's Campaign Finance Portal on or before officially announcing your intentions to run, or designate yourself as treasurer on your Declaration of Candidacy form.  Online reporting is not required until the candidate receives or expends $500.
2. Have the County Elections Office certify your Petition of Candidacy.
3. File the Petition of Candidacy and Declaration of Candidacy with the clerk of the taxing district that you are running in.
4. File all necessary Campaign Disclosure forms on time using the campaign finance portal.

*Petition of Candidacy and Declaration of Candidacy forms are available through the taxing district you are filing with or the Elections Office. 

• Candidates running for Statewide, Legislative, and other State-level Offices file with the Secretary of State's Office in Boise. 
• Candidates running for County or Precinct Office file at the Elections Department at 1808 North 3rd St, Coeur d'Alene. 
• Candidates running for office in a specific Taxing District must file with the specific district, however Petitions of Candidacy must first be certified by the Elections Department.

Under new Campaign Finance guidelines, all candidates must either appoint themselves as treasurer for their campaign, or they may appoint someone else using a C-1 form. Upon receiving or expending $500, candidates are required to create a Campaign Finance account through the Secretary of State's Campaign Finance Portal and to file monthly Campaign Finance Disclosure reports during the year in which the Election for the office they are seeking is taking place. 

Current candidates and officeholders with open reporting are required to file annual reports in non-election years.

For more information, contact the Elections Department at 208-446-1030.

You may email or fax completed Declarations of Candidacy for our review, but filing the notarized Petitions of Candidacy must be done in person.  If you are unable to bring your Petition in person please notify us of the situation and who will be bringing in your Petition.  Contact the Elections Department at 208-446-1030 for more information.

Most basic contact information is required to be completed on the Declaration of Candidacy.  Additionally, if you want constituents to be able to contact you, we display pertinent contact information on our website.  Contact us at 208-446-1030 for more information.

Contact information you provide is listed on our website.

All candidate filing forms are available at the Elections Department or on our website. A limited amount of registration cards and absentee ballot request forms can also be requested from the Elections Department.  We also highly encourage candidates to utilize the State of Idaho's online registration and absentee request portal available at VoteIdaho.gov

Yes, you need to request the information using the Voter Information Request Form (PDF). Contact the Elections Department at 208-446-1030 for more information.

Fill out and submit the Voter Information Request Form (PDF) requesting the list of voters who are receiving absentee ballots for the current election. This list is sent by email on a regular basis throughout the time when ballots are being mailed.

The Elections Department staff conducts a Logic and Accuracy public test in the weeks prior to the Election to ensure that the ballot counting machines are programmed and running properly. This test is open to the public, and the date is published on that specific Election page on our website.