§ 34-220 — JUDICIAL REVIEW — ELECTION RESULTS

(1) If the vote count in an election has been completed and it appears to the secretary of state or a county clerk that an error has occurred in the administration of such election that may be sufficient to change the result of the election, then the secretary of state or clerk of the county in which such error appears to have occurred may petition the district court of the county in which the error appears to have occurred for judicial review of the election. The petition shall be filed within twenty-eight (28) days of the date of the election.
(2) The secretary of state or the county clerk initiating a petition under this section shall serve notice of the petition on:
(a) Any candidate appearing on the ballot in such election; and
(b) Any taxing district or other party responsible for placing an initiative, a referendum, or another question on the ballot in such election.
(3) The district court may:
(a) Give such precedence on its docket to a petition under this section as the circumstances may require; and
(b) Consider any evidence related to the error alleged in the petition.
(4) The scope of the district court’s review shall be limited to whether the error alleged in the petition occurred and, if so, whether the error was sufficient to change the result of the election. If the court determines that the error was sufficient to change the result of the election, then the court shall declare the election void and order a new election to be held at the expense of the agency where the error occurred. The new election shall be held as soon as practicable and need not occur on a date provided in section 34-106, Idaho Code.
(5) Court proceedings held pursuant to this section shall be conducted according to the Idaho rules of civil procedure, as applicable, and any other rules deemed pertinent by the district court.

Legislative History

[(34-220) 34-219, added 2022, ch. 73, sec. 1, p. 212; am. and redesig. 2023, ch. 218, sec. 8, p. 612.]