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Party labels in Idaho school board elections
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| Idaho overview: • Election dates: Off cycle |
| Key policies: • Election dates and timing • Party labels on the ballot |
| Key terms • On-cycle elections • Off-cycle elections • Off-year elections • Off-date elections • Party labels • Partisan elections • Nonpartisan elections |
School board elections in Idaho are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Idaho Statute establishes that school board candidates qualify for the ballot according to the nonpartisan candidate nominating petition process, not through a primary election or political party nomination process.
See law: Idaho Statute Section 33-501
There were 115 public school districts in Idaho with a total of 570 school board member seats as of 2022. Those school districts operated a total of 703 schools serving 289,262 students.
The information in this page was last updated in 2022. Please email editor@ballotpedia.org with any updates, corrections, exceptions, or improvements.
The information in this article was last updated in 2022. Please email editor@ballotpedia.org with any updates or corrections.
Idaho state law governing party labels on the ballot for school board elections
School board elections in Idaho are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Idaho Statute establishes that school board candidates qualify for the ballot according to the nonpartisan candidate nominating petition process, not through a primary election or political party nomination process. Idaho Statute states that school board candidate nomination petitions, "shall bear the name of the candidate, state the term for which declaration of candidacy is made, and bear the signature of not less than five (5) school district electors" and does not provide for party affiliation information.
See law: Idaho Statute Section 33-501
Examples of how school board candidates appear on the ballot in Idaho
Below are excerpts from an odd-year November election sample ballot with nonpartisan races, including school board races, and from an even-year General election sample ballot.
How does Idaho compare to other states?
Across the country, there are 13,187 public school districts governed by a total of 83,183 school board members. They are elected directly by voters except for a small handful of exceptions who are appointed.
As of July 2025, over 85% of school boards are elected without any party labels on the ballot identifying the candidates' affiliation with a political party. State laws in five states containing 1,169 school districts (9%) provide for party labels on the ballot for school board elections. In five states containing 554 districts (4%), state laws effectively provide for both the option of including or not including party labels on the ballot for school board elections. In the remaining states with elected local school board members, state law provides for school board elections without the inclusion of party labels on the ballot.
Elections in which party labels are included on the ballot are referred to as partisan elections. Elections in which party labels are not included on the ballot are referred to as nonpartisan elections.
The state laws of 40 states containing 11,472 school districts provide for school board elections without party labels identifying the affiliation of candidates listed on the ballot (nonpartisan elections).
State laws of five states provide for school board elections with party labels identifying the affiliation of candidates listed on the ballot (partisan elections):
State laws of five states containing 554 school districts effectively provide both options depending on the district. The details and the number of districts that fall in each category vary among the states. Those five states are:
See also
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School board election rules: |
School board election coverage: |
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Footnotes
