BOISE, Idaho — The deadline to request an absentee ballot for Idaho's first all-mail primary election is coming up on May 19.
Less than a week before that deadline, some voters are raising concerns about a website where their personal information has been posted.
As of Wednesday, Idaho Freedom Action had posted the home addresses and party affiliations of more than 280,000 Idahoans. Also listed: which party's ballot each voter had requested.
Idaho Freedom Action took the information off its website Thursday. Now, the group advises those who want a copy of the list to request the list by email.
While this raises concerns about the privacy of voters, all of the information obtained and posted is public record, available from the Idaho Secretary of State's Office.
"Whether it's right, wrong or indifferent, it's not illegal," said Chad Houck, Idaho's chief deputy secretary of state. "I will say that we did communicate with them, we did check with them on what was there, we made sure that what was there was the same information that others have access to."
The information is the same information that political campaigns use for "get out the vote" efforts.
Houck also said if people don't want the information to be available to the public, "then the public is going to need to change the constraints under which it is happening."
Idaho Freedom Action is the political action arm of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, which is registered as a nonprofit corporation with the Idaho Secretary of State's Office.
The IFF does not formally endorse candidates for political office, but the group does issue "freedom index" scores of lawmakers and legislation.
IFA helped organize "Disobey Idaho" protests against the state's stay-at-home order.
Requests for absentee ballots are due May 19. Ballots must be received by your county elections office by June 2, the date the votes will actually be counted.
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