Voting in Boise Will Soon Look Different

It seems that after a year of pandemic, nothing is coming out of 2020 the same as it went in.  In some ways, that's great and in other ways, we'll just have to adapt. One thing that is changing may be something you only think about once every four years--but it IS important: voting.

In 2020, the Idaho legislature passed a new law that impacts the entire state. According to this law, any city within the State of Idaho that has a population of over 100,000 people will need to elect their city council members by district.  Here in the City of Boise, districts one, three, and five are up on this November's ballot.

Boise City Council will be voting on a new map which divides the entire city into districts--there will be six in total--each containing about 35,000residents in each.

What does this mean for you?

Well, it could simply mean you're now voting for representation in an area that before, you were not a part of or perhaps with a community that you did not get "grouped" with, before. Boise City Council did their best to respect smaller neighborhood blocks and to honor major roads like Overland Road or Warm Springs Avenue to serve as dividers. These new districts, of course, can't be perfect. That's why this proposed map isn't permanent.

In order to comply with State of Idaho law, the map needed to be drawn to respect this November's ballot. However, next year, once 2020 census data is available, the map will be revisited and open to public comment.

It's a complicated and honestly, quite boring process that is crucial to how we are represented in the City of Boise. We'll continue to keep you posted on how these changes come together as they're voted on.

See the entire map and where you fall on the rendition that has been mocked up, HERE.