Welcome to the City of Coeur d’Alene’s Election Services Web site. My goal as the City Clerk is to provide basic information to anyone who is interested in the City of Coeur d’Alene’s election process.

If you cannot find an answer to your questions on this web page, please feel free to ask me any questions that you may have regarding the City’s election process. I can be reached via e-mail at cityclerk@cdaid.org, phone at 769-2231 or by fax at 769-2348

Renata McLeod, City Clerk, CMC

2023 Candidate Declarations 

The next City election will be held November 7, 2023, wherein three council seats will be up for election: 

Seat #1, currently held by Christie Wood

Seat #3, currently held by Dan Gookin

Seat #5, currently held by Dan English

There are certain deadlines set out in Idaho Code as to when to file declarations of candidacy, and several laws regarding campaign finance you will need to get acquainted with when starting a campaign.  

The election calendar can be found here:  Election Calendar

Please note formal declarations can only be filed between August 28 - September 8, 2023 and must be filed in the City Clerk’s office before 5:00 p.m. (after signatures are certified by the County Clerk, so don’t forget that step). You are more than welcome to start a campaign, announce you are running and start campaign fundraising prior to those dates.  The key is that the cities no longer handle the campaign finance, that all occurs through the Secretary of State’s office (https://sos.idaho.gov/elections-division/campaign-finance-filing). If you plan to spend or raise more than $500, you should set up the account through the state before you start collecting and spending funds.

In the City of Coeur d’Alene, you will run for a specific seat number, this is not tied to a certain section of town, rather just a way of tracking staggered 4-year terms. This selection must be noted on your declaration of candidacy.   

The Idaho Code regarding municipal elections can be found on the web at https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title50/T50CH4/.   Other resources that I think are beneficial include the Ethics in Government, Open Meeting Law, and Public Record’s law manual, located on the Attorney General’s website:  https://www.ag.idaho.gov/office-resources/manuals/  

If you have any other specific questions along the way, please do not hesitate to contact me.  Renata McLeod, City Clerk  208-769-2231; renata@cdaid.org

Please note that under new legislation the City Clerk is no longer responsible for overseeing campaign finance reporting of candidates who raise or spend $500.00 or more during elections.  Candidates will use the portal located on the Secretary of State's website to report all campaign finance reports. 

https://sos.idaho.gov/elections-division/campaign-finance-filing/

The candidate filing packet, write-in declaration of intent, withdrawal forms, candidate and write-in certification forms are all available on the state website, but still filed with the City Clerk.  Rather than each city developing their own candidate filing forms and other documents, this year we will be using the forms developed by the Secretary of State’s office in consultation with the Association of Idaho Cities to ensure greater consistency around the state.  The forms can be found at https://voteidaho.gov/city-resources/.