I'm no psychic and to my knowledge neither are the more than 150 candidates in Idaho looking to either get elected or re-elected to state office. But I do know this: When it comes to the most powerful voting group, those 50 and older, if candidates want to know what's on their mind all they have to do is listen.

That's exactly what AARP did. We wanted to know what our members (the most avid voting group in Idaho) were thinking this election year, so we asked a simple question: What issues do you most want to know the candidates' positions on? And then we listened - and one thing was for sure: They have some hard questions for the candidates. Our members' responses formulated AARP Idaho's voter guide this year, with their issues and questions being posed to candidates for governor and every state legislative race in Idaho.

Most candidates know the power of the 50-plus voting population - they vote in greater numbers than any other age group. More than 90 percent of AARP members are registered to vote and 80 percent do so in every election. As with most 50-plus voters, they stay keenly aware of the issues and like to be educated voters, knowing where the candidates stand on the issues that matter most to them before they vote.

It doesn't take much digging to find the clear frontrunner issue: People want to know how the candidates are going to address Idaho's budget woes. And not surprisingly, as AARP was founded by a school teacher, they want to know the candidates' position on restoring funding for education for their children and their grandchildren.

The Health Care Worker's Conscience Law, which took effect July 1, was easily one of the most controversial bills passed this last legislative session, namely due to the inclusion of a provision allowing health care workers to refuse to provide "end-of-life care and treatment" that violated their conscience. This means advance directives and living wills can be ignored. Our members, and I imagine many others, want to know how or if the candidates will fix this issue.

They want to know the candidates' position on taking large special interest campaign contributions out of Idaho politics for good. Our state has no limits on donations to political parties or on contributions to Political Action Committees (PACs) - do the candidates want to change that?

To keep elections and politicians beholden to local interests first, our members also want to know if candidates support a requirement that they raise the majority of their campaign funds from individuals who reside in their districts. With 85 percent of AARP members in Idaho stating they have little to no confidence in state politics, it doesn't take a whole lot of guesswork to see where this issue comes from.

Idaho has one of the lowest (49th) doctor-to-patient ratios in the nation, and the small pool of doctors we do have is increasingly shutting its doors to Medicare patients. The survey finds people want to know how the candidates will resolve this worsening issue and what proposals they have to ensure Idaho both attracts and retains doctors, while making it easier for older patients to get the care they need.

As part of AARP's statewide voter education efforts, we'll send voter guides, stating the candidates' position on these issues to all of our 180,000 members in Idaho and make them available to the public. And we'll also let our members know who chose not to respond to their questions.

It doesn't take a psychic to find out what's on the minds of the 50-plus voters in Idaho, just an open ear, and heck, we've even helped take some of the guesswork out of it for the candidates.

Jim Wordelman is state director for AARP in Idaho.