(Idaho Secretary of State, November 11, 2026)
I have been through countless Election Days. None began like this one.
Several weeks ago, the Kilroy Coffee Klatch, a group of Idaho veterans, asked me to speak on the morning of Election Day, and I hesitated. Election Day is unpredictable, and I never know what challenges might crop up as hundreds of thousands of Idahoans head to the polls. By the time I arrived at the Warhawk Air Museum last Tuesday, I’d already spent much of the morning putting out fires. Part of me wondered whether I should be there at all.
Yet, as I stood before more than 400 veterans, the stress of the morning fell away. This was exactly where I needed to be.
I spend a lot of time and energy encouraging Idahoans to vote. I talk about close elections and how every vote counts. I talk about the decisions that shape our communities and the legacy of our nation’s founders in the year of America’s 250th anniversary.
Standing in that room, surrounded by men and women who had served our country across generations and branches of the military, I felt the weight of what we have inherited. America has been through periods of intense disagreement and struggle before. The people in that room had served through many of them. Whatever the challenges of their time, they had taken responsibility for protecting a country that would outlast them.
Later that day, my three kids came with me to my polling place, so I could cast my own ballot. My oldest asked if she could follow me to the voting booth. She wanted to know who I was voting for, what the issues were, and why I’d made those choices. It was a small moment in a very long day, but it made me pause.
From the veterans who packed that room to my daughter asking questions at the voting booth, I found myself thinking about how much we receive from people who came before us, and how much those who follow will depend on what we do now.
Voting is about making our voices heard. It’s about choosing the direction of our communities and our state. But it’s also about sharing what has been passed down to us and recognizing our responsibility to maintain and to pass along.
I’m grateful I said yes to that Election Day invitation.
To all our veterans, Thank You for Your Service. You have helped protect a country that each of us has a responsibility to care for and pass along.
Phil McGrane
ABOUT SECRETARY PHIL McGRANE
Phil McGrane was elected Idaho’s twenty-eighth Secretary of State and took office on January 2, 2023. McGrane served as elected Clerk of Ada County from 2019-2022.McGrane holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, a juris doctorate, and a Master of Public Administration. As a fourth-generation Idahoan, Phil has dedicated his career to making elections in the state of Idaho accessible, secure and transparent.
