The Idaho Test Oath was an act of Idaho legislation passed in 1884 as part of anti-Mormon politics. By the early 1800s there were over 30 Mormon settlements in the Idaho territory, making up nearly one fourth of the population and certainly enough to influence the vote dramatically. As a way to keep the Mormons from voting, politicians focused on polygamy, a practice thought to be horrific by the general public and greatly misunderstood. The Idaho Test Oath stated that elected officials could not be practitioners of polygamy nor could they be a member of an organization that has ever believed in the practice. It not only kept out practicing polygamist, an institution that had nearly died out, but all Mormons due to their association. Members of the Mormon church were unable to vote or serve on a jury. In order to cast a vote some would resign their membership to the LDS church temporarily in court, however politicians became aware of this and passed another act banning anyone who had ever been a Mormon from voting. The federal government took notice of Idaho politics and granted it statehood in 1890. The Mormons eventually gained back the right to vote however the provision was not removed until 1982.

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