FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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Date: December 11, 2020 Contact: Chad Houck, Chief Deputy Secretary of State Phone: (208) 334-2852

Boise, Idaho — Monday, December 14 at noon, Idaho Governor Brad Little and Idaho Secretary of State Lawerence Denney will jointly preside over the casting of Idaho’s electoral votes at the Idaho State Capital.

Federal law (USCS Title 3, Section 7), requires the meeting of electors, in their respective states, to be held on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December. Idaho statute further dictates that the meeting of Idaho’s electors, under I.C. § 34-1503, occur at 12:00 noon on the day that is directed by Congress.

Presidential electors are appointed by the state party respective to each prevailing candidate, so the four electors participating on Monday in Idaho were appointed by the Idaho State Republican Party. While it is anticipated that Idaho’s 4 electoral votes will be cast in favor of President Donald Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence, given that the popular vote in Idaho was won by the President, Idaho does not have any statutes preventing what is known as a “faithless Elector.” That is the term used for an elector who casts his or her vote for any person who is not their affiliated party’s official candidate for either office. Idaho has no history of Faithless electors since statehood in 1890.

Once the electoral votes are cast and tallied, multiple packages, each containing an originally signed copy of the “Certificate of Votes”, along with multiple other documents, are sent to the President of the United States Senate, the national archivist, and the chief judge of the Federal District of Idaho. The packages from each state are then opened in the next step of the electoral process in congress in early January.

Due to existing COVID restrictions, and the limitations on gatherings to no greater than 10 individuals, a public livestream of the event will be provided via IPTV’s Idaho In Session by selecting the “Idaho Electoral College Vote” event from the calendar of Joint Committee and Special Meetings.

For any additional questions contact: Chad Houck, Chief Deputy Secretary of State (208)-585-7370 | [email protected]

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ABOUT LAWERENCE DENNEY

Lawerence Denney has served the people of Idaho since 1990. His public service began as a representative in District 13 and, following redistricting, then became a representative in District 9 until 2014. During this time, Denney served two terms as Majority Leader and three terms as Speaker of the House before successfully running for state office as Idaho’s Secretary of State. He is currently in his second term as Secretary of State.