BOZEMAN, MT – Idaho and Montana severely lag neighboring Wyoming in voter turnout figures for local elections, with consequences that include higher election administration costs and worse representation for the states’ residents at large, according to new research from the nonpartisan think tank Sightline Institute.
Idaho and Montana could improve outcomes for their residents by adopting Wyoming-style “on-cycle” elections—i.e., allowing their cities to consolidate their local elections in even-numbered years. The analysis found that doing so would also boost participation from working-age and politically moderate voters.
Consolidating elections in even years boosts voter turnout more than any other reform that scholars have studied, often by double. Neighboring Wyoming—otherwise politically similar to Idaho and Montana—already uses a consolidated election system and enjoys dramatically higher voter turnout.
- On average, the largest cities in Wyoming drew 37.3 percent of voting-age citizens to the polls in 2022. In Idaho, the comparable off-cycle figure was 19.5 percent.
- Two Montana city-county governments already vote on-cycle. Anaconda (Deer Lodge County) and Butte (Silver Bow County) hold on-cycle municipal elections—and they boast almost twice the turnout of their off-cycle peers.
- Sightline estimates that consolidating all local elections might spare Idaho governments $5.4 million in each two-year cycle. In Montana, the savings are estimated to be $4.4 million.
“Get-out-the-vote efforts and registration drives are lucky to boost turnout by just a percentage point or two,” said Alan Durning, lead author of the research and executive director of Sightline Institute. “Simply consolidating elections in Montana and Wyoming would likely double voter participation—even while saving millions in public funds and diluting special interests’ influence on election outcomes.”
Read the full analysis: The Election Calendar Is Cheating Idaho and Montana Voters
Related:
- Idaho, Montana, and Washington could save $30 million by moving local elections to national Election Day | A preliminary estimate of potential cost savings from municipal election consolidation.
- Voters want fewer elections: Here’s how to do that | California, Arizona, and Nevada have shifted to even-year elections, boosting turnout and saving money—with lessons for other states.
- In every Washington city, odd-year elections crush voter turnout | State law requiring odd-year local elections causes every WA city to suffer a voter turnout penalty.
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Alan Durning is the founder and Executive Director of Sightline Institute. His current topics of focus include democracy reform and housing affordability. Find his latest research here.
Sightline Institute is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank providing leading original analysis of democracy, energy, forests, and housing policy in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, British Columbia, and beyond.
