Engage · Federal and state

Understanding the Constitution

You live under two constitutions: the United States Constitution and Idaho's. Here is what each one does and how each one changes.

The U.S. Constitution

• It sets up the federal government: Congress, the President and the federal courts, each checking the others.
• It divides power between the federal government and the states.
• It protects individual rights, mostly through its amendments. The first ten are the Bill of Rights. Later ones ended slavery, guaranteed equal protection and due process, and extended the vote.

The Idaho Constitution

• It dates from statehood. Delegates wrote it in Boise in the summer of 1889, voters approved it that fall, and Idaho became a state on July 3, 1890.
• It is longer and more specific than the federal one. It covers schools, water rights, taxes, public lands, counties and cities.
• Article I is Idaho's own declaration of rights. State constitutions can protect more than the federal one does, and Idaho's includes rights the federal Constitution doesn't spell out, such as crime victims' rights and the right to hunt, fish and trap.
• It limits the government in practical ways: the budget has to balance, most local government debt needs a two-thirds vote of the people, and the Legislature has to maintain a "general, uniform and thorough" system of free public schools.
• It reserves power to the voters: the initiative, the referendum and the recall are all in the constitution.

How each one changes

• U.S. Constitution: an amendment needs two-thirds of both houses of Congress, then approval by three-quarters of the states. It has been amended 27 times.
• Idaho Constitution: an amendment needs two-thirds of both the House and the Senate, then a majority of voters at the next general election. Voters can't propose amendments by initiative.

That means every change to Idaho's constitution comes to you as a ballot question, usually labeled HJR or SJR with a number. See state initiatives and referendums.

Who decides what it means

Courts do, case by case. The U.S. Supreme Court has the last word on the federal Constitution, and the Idaho Supreme Court has the last word on Idaho's. See how the courts work.

Reading them yourself

Both are short enough to read in an evening. The Legislature's website has the full Idaho Constitution, article by article, and Congress.gov has the U.S. Constitution with plain-language notes on each clause.

Sources

• Constitution of the State of Idaho (Idaho Legislature)
• The Constitution of the United States, annotated (Congress.gov)
• The Constitution (National Archives)

Last reviewed November 2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the linked sources before you rely on a deadline.